Job 42:1-6 (Common English Bible)

Job answered the Lord:

I know you can do anything; no plan of yours can be opposed successfully. You said, “Who is this darkening counsel without knowledge?” I have indeed spoken about things I didn’t understand, wonders beyond my comprehension.

You said, “Listen and I will speak; I will question you and you will inform me.” My ears had heard about you, but now my eyes have seen you.

Therefore, I relent and find comfort on dust and ashes.

Job 38:1-7 (Common English Bible)

Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

Who is this darkening counsel with words lacking knowledge?

Prepare yourself like a man; I will interrogate you, and you will respond to me.

Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations?

Tell me if you know.

Who set its measurements? Surely you know.

Who stretched a measuring tape on it?

On what were its footings sunk; who laid its cornerstone, while the morning stars sang in unison and all the divine beings shouted?

Job 23:1-9 (Common English Bible)

Job answered:

Today my complaint is again bitter; my strength is weighed down because of my groaning.

Oh, that I could know how to find him— come to his dwelling place; I would lay out my case before him, fill my mouth with arguments, know the words with which he would answer, understand what he would say to me. Would he contend with me through brute force?

No, he would surely listen to me. There those who do the right thing can argue with him; I could escape from my judge forever.

Look, I go east; he’s not there, west, and don’t discover him; north in his activity, and I don’t grasp him; he turns south, and I don’t see.

Job 2:1-5 (Common English Bible)

One day the divine beings came to present themselves before the Lord.

The Adversary also came among them to present himself before the Lord.

The Lord said to the Adversary, “Where have you come from?”

The Adversary answered the Lord, “From wandering throughout the earth.”

The Lord said to the Adversary, “Have you thought about my servant Job, for there is no one like him on earth, a man who is honest, who is of absolute integrity, who reveres God and avoids evil? He still holds on to his integrity, even though you incited me to ruin him for no reason.”

The Adversary responded to the Lord, “Skin for skin—people will give up everything they have in exchange for their lives.

But stretch out your hand and strike his bones and flesh. Then he will definitely curse you to your face.”

The Lord answered the Adversary, “There he is—within your power; only preserve his life.”

The Adversary departed from the Lord’s presence and struck Job with severe sores from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. Job took a piece of broken pottery to scratch himself and sat down on a mound of ashes.

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Pastoral Prayer

Prayer of Saint Francis

Lord make Me an instrument of Your peace

Where there is hatred let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness joy.

O Divine master grant that I may

Not so much seek to be consoled as to console

To be understood, as to understand.

To be loved. as to love

For it's in giving that we receive

And it's in pardoning that we are pardoned

And it's in dying that we are born...

To eternal life.

James 5:19-20

My brothers and sisters, if any of you wander from the truth and someone turns back the wanderer, recognize that whoever brings a sinner back from the wrong path will save them from death and will bring about the forgiveness of many sins.

James 3:13-18 (Common English Bible)

Are any of you wise and understanding? Show that your actions are good with a humble lifestyle that comes from wisdom. However, if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, then stop bragging and living in ways that deny the truth.

This is not the wisdom that comes down from above. Instead, it is from the earth, natural and demonic. Wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and everything that is evil.

What of the wisdom from above? First, it is pure, and then peaceful, gentle, obedient, filled with mercy and good actions, fair, and genuine. Those who make peace sow the seeds of justice by their peaceful acts.

Philippians 4:4-8 (The Message Bible)

Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

James 2:1-8 (Common English Bible)

My brothers and sisters, when you show favoritism you deny the faithfulness of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has been resurrected in glory.

Imagine two people coming into your meeting. One has a gold ring and fine clothes, while the other is poor, dressed in filthy rags. Then suppose that you were to take special notice of the one wearing fine clothes, saying, “Here’s an excellent place. Sit here.” But to the poor person you say, “Stand over there”; or, “Here, sit at my feet.” Wouldn’t you have shown favoritism among yourselves and become evil-minded judges?

My dear brothers and sisters, listen! Hasn’t God chosen those who are poor by worldly standards to be rich in terms of faith? Hasn’t God chosen the poor as heirs of the kingdom he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor.

Don’t the wealthy make life difficult for you? Aren’t they the ones who drag you into court? Aren’t they the ones who insult the good name spoken over you at your baptism? You do well when you really fulfill the royal law found in scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself.

James 1:22-25 (Common English Bible)

You must be doers of the word and not only hearers who mislead themselves. Those who hear but don’t do the word are like those who look at their faces in a mirror. They look at themselves, walk away, and immediately forget what they were like. But there are those who study the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continue to do it. They don’t listen and then forget, but they put it into practice in their lives. They will be blessed in whatever they do.

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Pastoral Prayer

Let Our Cries Come Unto You

Most merciful and compassionate God,

Giver of Life and Love,

hear our prayers

and let our cries come unto you.

We weep with your people

We hear the cries of orphaned children and laments of bereaved parents

We feel the desperation of those searching for loved ones

We behold the silence of vanished villages.

We see the devastation.

We are overwhelmed by the enormity of it all.

Our hearts are hushed, our minds are numb.

Let not our hands be stopped, our voices dumb.

God of the universe,

Open our hearts to feel your compassion

Galvanize in us the act of continued giving

Bond us to our sisters and brothers in need

Comfort and heal the injured, the bereaved, the lost

Strengthen the aid workers and medical personnel

Bolster the resolve of governments and those with power to help

Open through this tragedy pathways to partnerships and peace

In Your Name of mercy and healing and compassion we pray

- Offered for the people of Japan following the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011

1 Kings 8:27-30 (Common English Bible)

Solomon stood before the Lord’s altar in front of the entire Israelite assembly and spreading out his hands toward the sky, he said,

“But how could God possibly live on earth? If heaven, even the highest heaven, can’t contain you, how can this temple that I’ve built contain you? Lord my God, listen to your servant’s prayer and request, and hear the cry and prayer that your servant prays to you today. Constantly watch over this temple, the place about which you said, ‘My name will be there,’ and listen to the prayer that your servant is praying toward this place. Listen to the request of your servant and your people Israel when they pray toward this place.

Listen from your heavenly dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive!

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Pastoral Prayer

Immigrants Prayer

Lord God, help us to remember those who tonight will go to sleep unfed and unwelcome,

strangers in foreign lands, people who have fled for their lives and are far from their homes.

We lift up to you those who are escaping persecution and conflict, having fled death, torture or ruthless exploitation.

So many carry wounds, mental and physical. So many have suffered greatly.

Lord Jesus, give us more of your compassion for their plight, soften our hearts to their situation,

and help us follow your lead in seeking justice and mercy on their behalf.

We pray for an end to the wars, poverty and human rights abuses that drive desperate people to become refugees in the first place.

We give thanks for people working in troubled countries and ask for more of

your blessing so we can bring life, dignity and hope to those that remain.

We thank you that you are Lord of all the earth and all its people are loved by you.

We pray these things in the name of your Son who was himself born into the troubled life of a refugee.