Both the Bible and the experience of faith remind us that God answers prayer in many different ways.  Sometimes there’s an answer we recognize.  It is tangible and clear and seems to be as direct as a conversation on the telephone.  At other times we receive a sense from God or a “nudge” from the Holy Spirit which is only later confirmed by friends or by time.  Then, there are the prayers we offer to God that seem to go unanswered, prayers that can feel like sending a letter to someone who has moved away.  But there are also some prayers that are answered in ways we do not expect or recognize.  Some prayers are answered in ways we do not like. This week’s Daily Office readings have included a story about one such prayer. 

In chapters 22 through 24 of the Book of Numbers, we have heard the story of Balak, King of the Moabites, who felt threatened by the increasing strength of the Israelites.  Balak wants God to be on his side and so he calls upon the prophet Balaam to give him the word of God and build up the confidence of the people. 

But God tells Balaam not to go to the king.  The king persists and sends messengers to woo Balaam. Finally, God appears to Balaam and permits him to visit the king, but warns Balaam to say only what God tells him to say.  (Along the way to the king is the story of Balaam’s talking donkey, a story that reminds Balaam to be alert and faithful to God, no matter what.)

Once Balaam reaches the king, he prepares an altar, offers worship to God and requests God’s presence for the king.  But God disappoints King Balak.  God answers in a way that is contrary to what the king wants.  The king tries to talk Balaam into changing his prophecy and does everything he can to get Balaam (and God) to bless him and to curse his enemies.  But Balaam says only what God tells him to say. 

The messages from the Book of Numbers are many and are not always crystal clear, but among them I think, is the reminder that God sometimes has purposes that are larger than we can see, wider than we can imagine, and involve more variables that we might suspect.  It is for us to be faithful, to stay close to God, and to look and listen for God’s direction—no matter what. John Beddingfield

Around the Parish . . . The parish office will be closed on Monday, July 5 in observance of Independence Day . . . Attendance last Sunday at the 8:30 a.m. Mass: 36; at the 11 a.m. Mass: 92 . . . Total pledge offerings for the week ending with June 20 were $8,265.25 and the plate offering was $889.97 . . . Total pledge offerings for the week ending with June 27 were $5,629.00 and the plate offering was $537.25.

Your prayers are asked for . . . Ana Hernandez, B.J. Warren, Diorica von Rago, Walter Hollis, Gene Dunn, Susan Johnson, Jim Wallace, Susan Kornacki, Frasier, MaryJane, Bob and Louise Osborne, Joan Shapiro, Ann Dixon, Lorenzo Martinez, Family of Tom Martin, Hugh Yeomans, Helen Horne, Erling Hansen, Mona Bauer, Mary Backus, Sandy Jenkins Dixon, I. Kathryn McKewen, Thais Blanchard, Bruce MacDonald, Bob Colborn, Elizabeth McKee, Freddie Cameron, Robert Long, Barb Chaffee, Harriet Martin, Chris Cobb, Landis Vance, Vickie Drell, Stephanie Russell, Ruth & Fred Huber, Jim St. George, Mark Henderson, Martha Holdgate, Chip Meyers, Walter and Sally Jason, Arthur Andrew Warren, Mary Beth McCutcheon, Bryan Powell, Regina Dading, Julia Gutierrez, Ted Field, and for the repose of the soul of S.S. McClendon III, cousin of Sally MacDonald . . . Pray for members of the parish in the foreign service and others who are working overseas, especially Tim Zladitch, Chuck Hunter, Steve Kerchoff, Brad Moore, and Michael Pate . . . Pray also for the members of our Armed Forces on active duty, especially Jack Severson. . . If you wish to participate in our ongoing Internet Prayer Circle please contact Vicki Lowe at lowevg1@verizon.net.

Liturgical Notes . . . On Wednesday, July 7, at 10:30 a.m. we will celebrate the life of David Crumb Cutler, a neighbor of All Souls who died on June 28.  Pray for the repose of the soul of David, for his friends and family, and for all who mourn . . . Most of the Sundays in the summer are free for flower and candle dedications.  If you would like to dedicate flowers in celebration of an event or a person, or in memory of a loved one, please contact the parish office.

A Request from Transitional Housing Corporation . . . All Souls recently furnished an "adopted apartment" for the Transitional Housing Corporation (THC), but the need for housing remains great. THC is working to furnish four apartments this summer and needs a few specific items: Reclining chair (immediate need which THC can come pick up), new baby cribs, sofa, loveseat, television, and microwave. If you can provide any of these items, please call Andrew Adams, THC volunteer coordinator at (202) 557-5632.

A Thanksgiving for the Nation (Book of Common Prayer, page 838)

Almighty God, giver of all good things: We thank you for the natural majesty and beauty of this land. They restore us, though we often destroy them.

      Heal us.

We thank you for the great resources of this nation. They make us rich, though we often exploit them.

      Forgive us.

We thank you for the men and women who have made this country strong. They are models for us, though we often fall short of them.

      Inspire us.

We thank you for the torch of liberty which has been lit in this land. It has drawn people from every nation, though we have often hidden from its light.

      Enlighten us.

We thank you for the faith we have inherited in all its rich variety. It sustains our life, though we have been faithless again and again.

      Renew us.

Help us, O Lord, to finish the good work here begun. Strengthen our efforts to blot out ignorance and prejudice, and to abolish poverty and crime. And hasten the day when all our people, with many voices in one united chorus, will glorify your holy Name.  Amen.