Rev. Alex Shea Will is the Area Conference Minister for the Northeast Region of the Southern New England Conference.

Scripture: Luke 13:6-9 (NRSV)

Then he told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, “See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?” He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig round it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.” ’

Reflection: Let it Alone

I’ll be the first to admit: I’m not very patient. Maybe it’s the inevitable result of living in an “on-demand” generation. (It’s probably just the constant supply of iced-coffee running through my veins.) Regardless, I know that sometimes I feel like the vineyard owner, quick to lose my patience when something isn’t going the way I want it to go.
 
In truth, I know that I’m not alone; we all have varying capacities for patience. And we’ve all watched as the pandemic chipped away at our collective patience. Our tolerance for discomfort and inconvenience is clearly lower than it was three years ago. And for many people, especially those who have been pushed to the edges of well-being, that lowered tolerance is understandable. But speaking for myself, if I’m being honest, I know that I have more to be grateful for than reasons to quickly lose my patience.
 
In this reading I hear Jesus reminding me of that truth in the invitation to slow down. When I sense my lack of patience ruling my decision making, I hear Jesus in the voice of the gardener, saying “wait.” Just maybe my ability to find a bit more patience that day will be a gift to someone least expecting it.

PRAYER

Will you pray with me?
Holy God, might your infinite patience inspire us to offer it to one another. In Jesus’ name, amen.

New Prayer Requests:

We ask churches and church leaders to join us in the following prayers either by sharing them during worship, printing them in bulletins, or sharing them in some other way. To make a prayer request, please contact Drew Page at paged@sneucc.org

Prayers of Intercession:

• For the people of Ukraine whose lives continue to be shattered by war
• For those who struggle with the unknown and uncertainty as Covid safety procedures continue to be lifted in so many aspects of society

Prayers of Joy and Thanksgiving:

• For the Silver Lake Deans who met to plan and prepare for the 2022 Summer Camp Season at Silver Lake Conference and Retreat Center this weekend.

 This Week in History:

March 18, 1942 (80 years ago) The War Relocation Authority is created in the wake of Pearl Harbor. Its purpose was to "take all people of Japanese descent into custody, prevent them from buying land, and return them to their former homes at the close of the war." People of German and Italian ancestry were also detained, but those of Japanese heritage suffered the most injustice. Roughly 120,000 men, women and children were detained and transferred to relocations centers in California and 6 other states where conditions were worse than some prisons. In 1990, the U.S. government offered a formal apology and made reparations to surviving internees and their heirs with a check for a mere $20,000.

“Study the past if you would define the future.”
— Confucius

Alex Shea Will

Rev. Shea Will accompanies clergy, congregations, and committees as they live the love and justice of Jesus in ways that honor their unique contexts and gifts. In this work he is guided by relationship building, traditioned innovation, and covenantal...