On this National Day of Prayer, I am thinking about the hands that I may never hold, not because I am not reaching out but because the person that I am reaching for does not like its social coloring.  We pray to the same God but we may never pray together.  As siblings, we ask for the same “daily bread” but may never share a meal.  We read the same Bible but may never have the same pastor, share the same pew or program.  Though we are members of Christ’s body, we may never be members of the same church.  This is racism’s call to love and to worship God– separately.

Today, this is my prayer:

Precious Lord and our great Christ,

May the shadow of Your cross cast light on the foolishness of racism and block out all social colors so that we can hold hands today, tomorrow and always.  Amen.