8-Sep-24 (James 2:1-10)

The passage from James for today warns us that we must not show partiality, must not treat one person as more important than another. We're all adopted children of God. That's true everywhere, but especially here at the Table. Sometimes we get it into our heads that our job is to act like a gate-keeper, to only allow the right type of people in. Our job is actually more like throwing the doors open wide and calling anyone who will come in. "It is the Lord's Table, not our own."
Let us pray.

Prayer:

God, whose love is deep and true for all people, we know that we only share a fraction of that love with our world. Help us to grow in that love so that we welcome all as you have welcomed all of us. We thank you for the example of Jesus, who showed us how to love the outcast, the forgotten, and even the enemy. We thank you for this bread and cup, the symbols that remind us of how much that love cost you. As we take the bread and cup, fill us again with your Spirit that we can grow in your love.
In the name of Jesus, our Christ, AMEN