The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost - The Rev. Colette Hammesfahr
Luke 18:1-8, October 18, 2025 How often do you pray? How long do your prayers last? What do you pray for? Do you sometimes feel your prayers are a recording, set on repeat? How does Jesus want us to pray? Nicolas Herman was born in 1614 in a small village in France. He was poor and uneducated. He served as a soldier in the Thirty Years’ War, where he was wounded in battle. After the war, he returned home, where he endured the emotional and spiritual wounds of war. Nicolas was deeply disturbed by the violence and chaos he experienced. He was spiritually searching for answers. It was one winter day when he had a profound spiritual moment. He was walking when he saw a leafless tree, stripped bare by the winter weather. It was here that he remembered God’s promise of renewal. The tree that looked dead would return to life in the Spring. At that moment, he realized that God could renew his own heart just as that tree would be renewed. The vision sent him on a lifelong journey wi...