We are not islands

Tuesday October 3rd, James 5: 13 If you are having trouble, you should pray. And if you are feeling good, you should sing praises. 14 If you are sick, ask the church leaders to come and pray for you. Ask them to put olive oil on you in the name of the Lord. Since we are all invited to the table of the Lord, this is how we are to live in response, praising, praying, healing, and living in the presence of God every moment of every day. James’ description of the family of God is a dynamic one of interaction and caring. Our society and our religion has morphed into individualism. Martin Luther’s gift to humanities understanding of God was that an individual did not need the structure of the church to mediate to God for him or her. Human sin has taken that to mean we don’t need each other. The devil is always trying to muck up that three way relationship, relationship with the creator, relationship with the other creatures, and relationship with the creation from which we were formed. Here we have just a glimpse of what it should be, and with it, a calling to return.