God who is as present to us as our very breath, awaken us to your presence again. As we breathe deeply — in — and out — hear the prayers on our hearts and minds today
On this Pentecost Sunday as we are gathered together, remembering the promise of the spirit within and all around us- poured out and sent forever as teacher, reminder, guide, advocate, peacemaker, heart-comforter, truth revealer- and so we pray come holy spirit, remind us how to hear you.
Spirit of Life, we have heard the scripture proclaim Peace, Peace, do not let your hearts be troubled and do not let them be afraid, yet we look at our world and are met not with peace, but with violence, oppression, genocides, hatred, injustice, greed, and devastation. In our neighborhoods and city, in our state and country, for our neighbors around the world- in Palestine, Sudan, Ukraine, the Congo- we ache with the wonder- how might we survive this? When humanity is being devalued, and technology and capitalistic industry are overtaking our collective morality we ask – how can we forgo the responsibility to let our hearts be troubled by all of this? Teach us and guide how we might use our troubled hearts for good, so that life may flourish. As we gaze into our reality, help us to expand our capacity to listen for your call. We pray Come holy spirit, remind us how to hear you.
Spirit of Truth, we have heard the scripture tell of miraculous understanding. Folks from all over speaking out in new ways, listening and hearing in a way that had previously been beyond unimaginable. As we, too, feel the wind of the spirit, that holy breeze on our cheeks, the fire in our hearts, grant us such unimaginable space for understanding across differences, to speak new realities into being, to listen to those we feel we might never understand, to risk telling the truth. Come holy spirit, remind us how to hear you.
Spirit of Love, we have heard the scripture reminding us of your unending with-ness. That you have always been and will always be with us, not only with us- but with them, those we deem other, those we would rather forget- forgive us God for our lack of compassion. As we gaze into the face of our neighbors, those on our right and left, those ahead and behind, those down the street or those across the world, expand in our hearts the understanding that to gaze into the face of another is indeed to gaze into the face of the divine. Guide us as we seek to steward spaces of bold love and boundless compassion for all people. We pray – Come Holy Spirit, remind us that you are already with us.
Spirit of Justice, we have heard the scriptures call you advocate, as we grow in faithfulness teach us how to advocate for what is Just. To use our voices, our power, our love, our empathy, our compassion, our time, and indeed our very lives to create spaces of safety and flourishing for all who have been denied such space. For our siblings of color, for our LGBTQ siblings, for our immigrant siblings, for our Muslim siblings, for our Jewish siblings, for our siblings of all faiths and no faiths, we pray come Holy Spirit, remind us of such power of the advocate within ourselves, that we may dream a more hospitable, expansive world into being together.
God – who by any name does not encompass your expansive being– as we offer these prayers to you and one another, we breathe in with expectancy and breathe out with hope. God who shows us the way, make these words more than words and give us the spirit of Jesus, the one who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father…