This is the prayer I shared with the congregation in worship today, reflecting on the events of the week, including the Boston bombing, the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion, and the earthquake in China.
It’s been a tough week, Lord.
It’s been a tough week.
So many dead,
So many injured,
So many lives irrevocably changed,
So much fear.
It’s been sad and tragic
And rather overwhelming,
As we’ve watched, and cried,
And worried,
And toward the end of the week
cheered the finish
Of a different kind of race,
The relatively peaceful conclusion
That could so easily have
Ended badly for a lot of people.
And yet,
Through the smoke, and the rubble,
And the blood, and the pain,
We were blessed,
Blessed by glimpses of You,
Of your Spirit, your love, your compassion
At work in the world.
Runners finishing their marathon race,
And running 2 miles further to give blood.
Firefighters and others running not away from the smoke and debris,
But towards it
To help,
To give what they could,
Their strong arms, their talents,
And sometimes their lives.
We saw people saved because
Help arrived so soon,
Because Iraq and Afghanistan veterans
knew how to secure blast injuries,
because nursing home personnel
Selflessly evacuated elderly residents
Away from the fire raging next door,
Because rescue workers tirelessly
Searched through the rubble
And destruction that had been
Homes and businesses for survivers,
because law enforcement and government officials
Worked together to find and secure
Those responsible before more lives could be lost.
And when those police and fire and emergency vehicles pulled out,
With no additional loss of life,
We stood on the street and cheered
Along with the people of Watertown,
And we gave thanks.
We are so thankful Lord.
Thankful for all these glimpses of the holy
Amidst the chaos.
Thankful that
Our brothers and sisters in Boston,
Were delivered
from the evil and fear
That had gripped their city.
As we gather together this morning,
The very embodiment of your love
Revealed to us in Jesus Christ,
We come with hearts blasted
Wide open –
Open to the need of the world.
We come with arms blasted
Wide open –
Open to reach out in prayer
Across space and time
To touch the need of the world.
We lift up in prayer all those whose
Lives have been affected
By the many horrific events of this past week.
May they feel your comforting and healing presence,
And continue to catch glimpses of your Spirit at work
In their lives and our world.
We pray too for those whose actions or inactions
Caused or contributed to the suffering of this week.
They too are very much in need of sensing
your loving presence, your mercy, and your justice.
We also particularly lift up our Muslim brothers and sisters,
Who, this week, again live in fear
That they and their community will unjustly be condemned
Because of the fear of others.
This week blasted us open, Lord,
Open to you –
And the path of love and peace and foregiveness
you showed to us Jin esus Christ.
We know that when we are open to you,
Fear cannot close us down.
Fear cannot control us.
And death does not have the last word.
You are our strength and our salvation,
You, our home and only true security.
Even in the midst of darkness and pain,
You hold us,
And at the same time,
Call us to lend our hearts, our hands, our resources,
To continue your work in our world,
In whatever ways we can.
So that through us
others can catch glimpses
Of your kin-dom come to earth.
It’s a long road,
To healing and wholeness,
For us and our world.
And it will take all the wisdom and discernment
You can give us, Lord,
For the days ahead as we deal
With the aftermath.
But we know
That you are with us,
We run this race together.
For we are your people,
And you are our God.
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ who showed us this Way,
Amen.
