comments at a 30th high school reunion

I've been asked to offer a prayer of thanks for the food we will be enjoying at our class reunion meal this evening. I am touched by this honor.

Before we pray, I would like to make just a few personal comments.

I have had the chance to spend time with a number of you, my classmates, over the last two evenings, and I have been able to listen carefully to your stories. I have learned a lot, and what I've heard has really moved me. Sure, I heard some wonderful stories of business success and pride in family and career. But what touched me much more were the other stories. I looked into the eyes of classmates, some of whom I've known since Kindergarten. I saw your tears as I heard you quietly tell me about dreams that are never going to come true, about broken relationships, and about lost jobs and career failures. I heard the pain in your voices when you mentioned divorce, wayward kids, the struggles of helping ailing parents...and children. I felt your pain when you told me the stories of the deaths of siblings, and of moms and dads. There were tears as cancer survivors mentioned their battles and their fears. Even those few words showed me that glimmer of unspeakable pain and the anguish of those long sleepless nights and terror- the loss of innocence. I've been there too. Your stories revealed great humility. As I was driving home with Laura last night, your faces and your stories were running through my mind. Your words had been both painful and beautiful. I experienced a deep sense of love for you- the friends of my youth. I am thankful for you. I am proud of you. We little kids with our child-like dreams and joys are not playing a game. We are living real life.

I thought to myself, "the Class of 1979 has grown up."

So with that in mind, please join me in a prayer of thanksgiving on this happy occasion. I think maybe this is the first time the Class of '79 has ever prayed together. This prayer is not intended to make you feel uncomfortable or offended in any way. If you'd like to pray along with me, please do. If you'd prefer to simply listen, that's fine too. I will thank the Lord for this food, but if you don't mind, I'd also like to pray for our class.

Heavenly father I love you. We love you. We thank you for this happy occasion. We thank you so much for the lovely dinner we are about to enjoy. We thank you for the way that this meal symbolizes your gracious love for us and your many provisions for our lives. We thank you for the beauty of this world, and for the rich relationships you have given us to enjoy.

Lord, beyond thanking you for this meal, I pray for my classmates. You know every heart and you have seen every tear that has ever fallen from these eyes. Please bless and comfort these dear friends. Would you please meet their needs, whether emotional, mental or physical. Would you heal damaged relationships and provide tools and wisdom to deal with sorrow and personal struggles. Lord, for those who carry the burdens of injuries or illness, please bless and heal and bring peace.

Lord, I thank you for those who know you, and I ask that you would empower them to serve others in your name. For those who don't know you or who have journeyed far from you, please remind them that you have been pursuing a relationship with them since the day they were born. Bring them home to you.

Most of all father, I thank you that you offer us a way to be forgiven and a bridge to know you personally- because of what your son Jesus accomplished when he died on the cross for us.

So now I close this prayer with the Old Testament words that many of us first learned as a song more than 30 years ago,

May the Lord bless you.
May the Lord keep you.
May the Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
and give you peace.

Amen

8/8/09