I would like to read three verses of scripture from the Hebrew Bible before we pray. Perhaps you will see a theme.
“They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying, ‘peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 8:11)
“Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.” (Psalm 120:6-7)
“Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it, The Lord is peace.” (Judges 6:24)
(The reading from the Hebrew Bible for this Sunday was Psalm 121)
Let us pray.
God of unfathomable creativity, intelligence, and beauty, God of love, God of peace, in whose image we have been created — the most remarkable claim of all.
Our prayers are not the prayers you will hear this morning rising from Tehran or Tabriz or Tel Aviv or Kiev for that matter.
For we were not awakened by the blare of air raid sirens or the thud of massive explosions. We did not grab the children or rush to a shelter.
We hurried to church, tring to hit all the lights to make sure we got what might be the last parking space.
They lifted their eyes to the hills and wondered where their help would come from. They called on you by whatever name they call you to protect them and theirs, to be their shade on their right hand, to preserve them from evil, to preserve their lives and the lives of their loved ones, their going out and their coming in from this day forward, but on this day especially.
Our prayer is, Lord, hear their prayers.
For ourselves we pray:
Save us from cynicism, joy-killing, life-distorting cynicism, for some of us our greatest temptation. We have been misled so many times, lied to so many times that distrust seems the necessary defense, skepticism the most effective attitude, and sarcasm the most natural tone.
Grant us the courage to trust — wisely — for that is the posture that comes to us most naturally.
Save us from escapism, even if it is in the name of spirituality, if it means abandoning the world you loved so much you sent Jesus to save it.
Grant us the gift to discern the spirit of our time, for we are those of whom Jesus spoke when he said: “You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” (Matthew 16:3)
Restore to us the joy. Reignite the hope. Ground us in love. Secure us in peace.
We pray in the name of the One who said that those who make peace are children of the peacemaking God, who absorbed all the hatred and bitterness and violence of the world and yet said he was leaving us his peace, and who taught us to pray, saying,
Our Father….