From the Pastor

“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”
~ Psalm 27:14 

Certain words are employed so often during our liturgical seasons that they can easily be ignored due to overuse. “Waiting” is one of these words. It may also be difficult for us to sense how the people of old waited for a savior. It’s quite another thing, though, if we are in the midst of a pandemic struggle or a situation where we are currently waiting for something painful to change.

I know many people who are waiting. Some have cancer, and are waiting to die. There are families waiting to be healed of the pain they all experienced when a son or a daughter was killed by a mass shooting. We are anxiously waiting to hear of a vaccine that will be available and safe for everyone. Another person is waiting if he has the job for which he was recently interviewed. Yet another wait to know if she will have to move away from her home in which she has lived for 30 years.

What does this waiting have to do with longing/yearning for God’s coming? When we wait in difficult/tough times, we are in a special God-moment. We know we can’t “do it alone.” The One who came into this world is our Peace-Bringer. As we wait, we turn to our God and cry out for Peace to come, Save us O, God and enfold us!

Prayer
Source of Peace,
bring your serenity and inner repose
to those who wait to be relieved
of their pain and struggle.
O come, O come, Divine Healer,
as we lay our lives at your feet.
Amen.

Peace, Shalom, Salaam,

Lily Villamin
Senior Pastor, CUMC