The Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost

We missed worship at NorthHaven this past Sunday, although I hear that there was an exceptional sermon by Bryan Partridge. Instead, I was at the 2014 meeting of the Baptist Association of Philosophy Teachers. A common theme of the presentations that I heard was the virtue of humility, one that seems often missing from academic life. This week’s prayer:

Holy God,

Protect me from the temptation
to mistake sarcasm for honesty,
cynicism for realism,
and cleverness for wisdom.

Cleanse my heart from anything
that keeps me from loving
and learning from everyone
that you place in my path,
especially those that make me uncomfortable.

Teach me to rejoice in the differences,
for what can I learn
from those that already
think as I do,
believe as I do,
and speak as I do?

Amen