Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness, ELW 843
Devotion
In July I served as "chaplain" for a week-long senior high servant trip through the NJ synod, serving communities struggling after Hurricane Sandy. One day we worked with Sandy Warriors, a grassroots group that organizes neighborhood cleanups. There we were, during the hottest week of the summer, sweeping and scraping dirt and debris under the brutal sun, and in the span of about 20 minutes, three different people who lived nearby offered us ice-cold water.
Then we met Rose, an 85 year old resident of that street, who told us her story. Some of us weeded her yard, which she could not do on her own. Before we left, we prayed together with Rose, led by an intern pastor who had just started her internship year two weeks before.
As God used us to quench the burning need in this community, God used the people we served to quench our thirst. Praise the One who makes us one.
Prayer
Our God of light, I pray that you use me to help break the darkness of the world in what little way that I can, and that my eyes would be opened to see how others are also breaking the darkness in me, so that we may all be one in you. Amen.