O God, it is us, coming to you once again in our prayers, trusting that you can make sense of these broken words and incomplete thoughts, because you know us and, even still, you love us. God of our open hearts, have mercy on us this day.
O Love that will not let us go, some days, we struggle to return your gifts of love because of all our sufferings.
The suffering of illness, feeling betrayal from the very body we inhabit.
The suffering of captivity, imprisoned by trauma, by injustice, by addiction, by the life we thought was ours to live, by the story we’re living instead.
The suffering of regret, wondering why we do not do the good we want, but the evil we do not want seems to be what we do.
When we wonder how we can possibly choose to love, prompt us with a love that is genuine. Turn us away from hatred and toward your way of love. Give us the strength to hold fast to what is good.
O Joy that seeks us through the pain, some days, we can hardly bear the ache.
The ache of loneliness, experiencing distance within the very relationships we once cherished.
The ache of shame, living with a humiliation we cannot escape.
The ache of nostalgia, finding these days to be a pale shadow of those days, when all seemed easier, more hopeful, more alive.
When we wonder why everything is so very hard, delight us with the ordinary. Gladden our hearts with the gifts of your creation. Satisfy our longings as only you can do.
O Light, that illumines the shadows, some days, the shadows are the only place we find ourselves.
The shadows of despair with every injustice, every abuse of power, every inhumane act wrapped in a system, a mindset, a flag and called necessary.
The shadows of apathy when mustering energy to respond to all the demands of our work, our homes, our relationships, our communities.
The shadows of fear experienced in the absolute onslaught of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity every day.
When we wonder if ever we’ll emerge from the shadows of our living, flood the corners of our lives with the brilliance of your light. Dazzle our dulled places and our burdened spaces. Bring us to the brightness of your dawn.
O Life, that transforms even death, you know that this life is not to be lived alone. So when we forget, when we fool ourselves into thinking that we don’t need one another, when we mistake the joys of cooperation for the ease of unanimity, return us back to each other. Remind us that we are one body and members of one another. Gift us with falling down, so we experience the hope of lifting and being lifted up in love.
You see, what we’re asking for here, o God, is transformation. Transformation from indifference to love. Transformation from despair to joy. Transformation from shadows to light. Transformation from death to life. And as only you can, you revealed such transformation finally and fully in Jesus Christ our redeemer, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, father and mother of us all, and who taught us how to pray, saying…
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.
Amen.