The Lord be with you
This coming Sunday, the first Sunday after the national
holiday called Labor Day, is Grandparents' Day in the USA. It is officially an “observance”
and not a holiday. It was first celebrated as a national observance in 1978.
As a national observance, it is like many other national
observances and holidays and doesn’t appear on liturgical calendars. This doesn’t
mean that the Church does not value the vocation of grandparent or that the
Bible has nothing to say about this vocation. However the truths that apply to
grandparents do not apply exclusively to grandparents. Things like showing God’s
love to others, the blessings of family, and so on, apply to others as well. So
the vocation of being a grandparent is covered throughout the year when topics
related to being a grandparent are covered.
Still, it is appropriate for us to remember this particular
vocation on this particular Sunday. After all, in our vocation as citizens of
the United States,
we are part of the nation and seek its well-being. Therefore, this coming
Sunday, we will remember this blessed vocation in our prayers. The prayer we
will use is:
Creator God, who brought into existence
the first family in the Garden of Eden and through that family established all
the vocations that come with being part of a family, we remember the witness of
the grandparents in the Bible, like Abraham and Sarah, who were the grandparents
of Jacob and Esau, Obed and his wife, the grandparents of King David, and Adam
and Eve, who were the grandparents of Enos, who carried the promise of the seed
that would redeem the world. To this day grandparents continue to carry the
vocation to love, support, advise and encourage their grandchildren, thereby
being a blessing, not only to their grandchildren but also their children who
have the primary vocation of raising the family in the ways of the Lord.
Strengthen all our grandparents that they may walk in ways that demonstrate Your love in all their family relationships.
Finally, if you would like a little background on this day
you may go to the following link.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor John Rickert
Thank you.
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