Scripture
“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. 19 You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God; him alone you shall worship; to him you shall hold fast, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise; he is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things that your own eyes have seen. Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy persons; and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in heaven.”
Deuteronomy 10:17-22 (NRSV)
Prayer
Gracious and Merciful God,
Our Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer…
Thank You for being a God of justice who sees those most vulnerable in our society and does not look away but instead embraces each and every one of them. Open our eyes to see others the way You see them and to treat them accordingly. Move in our hearts and minds that we are able to love our neighbors as we have been instructed and to care for one another fiercely. Let us be beacons of light and hope and justice so that others will know of Your goodness, Your righteousness, Your mercy, and Your love, we pray. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
-Rev. Dr. Leslie Copeland Tune, NCC Chief Operating Officer
Beginning December 12 and moving daily through January 20, members of the National Council of Churches and all communion partners join in praying for hope, unity, and healing. During this Advent/Christmas season and into the New Year we put our hope in the ability and desire of God, through Jesus Christ, to heal and transform hearts and minds. We look for the Holy Spirit to breathe God’s newness into individual lives, faith communities, the soul of our nation, indeed, the whole world.