Prayer for March 22, 2021

O God who calls us to love our neighbor, help us to find ways to be true to that phrase.  Let us see those who are different than us as people for whom their stories are ones we need to know.  Let us celebrate our differences and what we can learn from each other.  May we be open to what the experiences of others can teach us, and find ways to be vulnerable enough that trust and sharing becomes possible.  Give us the ability to move beyond our discomfort in our differences to find excitement at the possibilities that exist when we treat strangers as friends we have yet to meet. Let the walls we have built that inhibit our ability to have empathy for others journey fall so that we might treat them as you have called us to respond to the stranger in our midst.  May your spirit guide us now and always.  Amen