World in Prayer

World News This Week in Prayer- Thursday, July 25, 2019

He has shown all you people what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8 NIV

Let us pray.

We think of the 45 People beaten by organized thugs in Yuen Long, a far northwest metro station of Hong Kong. There is worry of collusion and payments being made to criminals to actually disrupt public safety as citizens are peacefully protesting. An extradition bill that sparked the civil protest has been suspended. Comfort the families of the injured. We ask that you bring clarity to leaders and especially the police as they sort out right action to address the turmoil. Bring justice where there is violent behavior and help us to show mercy where impoverished people seem to turn toward crime. Oh Lord, we hear of these horrendous things and bow our heads. Help us to walk humbly.

We remember the Paradise fire and morn the loss, loss that killed 85 people and devastated a small city. “Ahead of the Fire,” reported by the Arizona Republic (USA) and USA Today reflects and analyzes the fire and the human risk for people living in the west, and what and where prevention can happen to avert catastrophe. Help us to hear the Good News months later as wild fire specialists and other scientists sort out the over 500 high-risk western US communities like Paradise. We pray for the disabled, the elderly, the poor who may not have cell phones to hear an Amber alert, who live in housing that is substandard and fire prone. Bring compassionate services to them. We remember fires around the world that devastate communities leaving people with nothing. We pray that this report will inform policy and opportunities for just and equable action. Help us to live humbly and work for justice. 

We seek courage of voice to declaim abuses in Sudan, as reported by the BBC this week, where the Rapid Support Forces have been accused of a massacre in which more than 120 people were killed and many of the dead dumped in the River Nile in early June. This quasi-ruling power in Sudan, fueled by its gold mining in Darfur, sends its gold to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Sudanese militiamen are now fighting in Yemen with the UAE and “policing” the border to Libya, extracting bribes, ransoms and levies. We shutter at the expanding web of war and the millions suffering in famine in Yemen. Lord, show your mercy; restore our sanity and resolve to take just action. Help us to speak with courage.

And help us to remember that through the work of the UN, 12 million refugees around the world have received essential supplies and 92,400 refugees have been resettled in 2018. Help us to live with thanks.

May we show devotion in all seasons, times of the day and spaces. We take out the garbage, fix a meal, lend a hand, soothe a baby, read to a child, fold the bedding, close a tent flap to shelter from rain, or linger a moment to look at the stars. Eternal One, you are with us in all these moments. May we feel your Holy Spirit even in the darkest of times. May Christ’s words to love infuse our hearts, minds and hands. Help us, indeed, to love mercy and to show mercy.

We close with the words of St. Francis of Assisi, For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.

Amen

 

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, May 9, 2019

Oh God, you who are always listening to us; you who hear the bird singing in the topmost branch against the blue, blue sky; you who know of the sobbing deep in the rubble after a bombing or the utterings of the newly-born. You, who are the heart of compassion, who gave your son Jesus to show us a life of compassion, awaken in us compassion. Forgive us when we are indifferent, blindly ignorant, willfully deceitful and outwardly contentious. Guide us in our trust of one another. Open our hearts in expressing love. Deepen our humility. Help us to show remorse for our wrongdoings. Help us to understand that we are broken and that your love has bound us, and in that binding is the promise of grace and wisdom for rebirth.

Bring your mercy to the peoples of Iowa and Nebraska, U.S., as floodwaters continue to rise in the Missouri River basin. Comfort those impacted by tornadoes and flash floods across the southern U.S. as rescue teams work long hours and emergency shelters are put in place. Sustain those who are called to tend and care and safeguard for hours and days on end.

We abhor the direct attack on an ambulance in Tripoli, Libya, that not only critically injured workers but also took away the vehicle, leaving victims imperiled in this civil conflict. Bring compassion and a sense of rectitude when such humanitarian violations occur. We pray for your mercies on the people of this nation, and wherever war continues to create a hell on earth for so many people throughout the world. Shed truth on the 15 countries in Africa where wars or post-war conflicts continue, especially where resources are extracted for the benefit of the wealthy few, and black- marketing of small arms escalates violence and instability and citizens are forced to flee conflict.

We ask for a unified voice of conscience against the abuse of power and imprisonment of the Vice President of the National Assembly in Venezuela. Bring your mercies to Venezuelan refugees now in Maico, Colombia, and across so many borders. Surround the nearly 50% of refugees that are children with care and reassurance. Reduce their hunger and fear. Sustain their faith. Empower leaders to help resolve this crisis.

Sustain the health care workers as they tend to the Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where nearly 66% of the cases have ended in death. We give thanks for a vaccine that may protect and shorten this scourge. Wrap in your arms the family and World Health Organization colleagues of the late Dr. Richard Valery Mouzouko Kiboung of Cameroon, shot by assailants in the DRC as he was meeting with frontline health care workers on the outbreak. We grieve this loss and senseless killing.

We pause in silence for all those in mourning…

We lift up joys. There are many even in all the trials and deep concerns. Help us to remember that you would never have us despair, that you are listening and are always there to speak comfort.

We are grateful for emergency responders who evacuated 1.1 million people in Odisha, India, and sheltered them out of harm’s way as Cyclone Fani struck over 15,000 villages.

We celebrate the passage of bills in the state of Washington, U.S., to protect and preserve the Southern resident orca population. You who have made the oceans, their depths and vast watery horizons. and filled them with life, we are grateful for this step in our renewed stewardship of your creation.

May we live in your abundant life, do your will, and know of a peace that passes all understanding.

In your name,
Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, April 25, 2019

Holy One,

Your Name is above all names, it is so high that we cannot attain it, yet still we seek it. And when we cannot find you, when we do not understand what is happening, when our hearts quake with fear and our spirits tremble with unknowing, when we stumble and search and seek after your face, a beloved face that seems so far from us, that is when YOU call us by name. As you did with Mary on Easter, you pierce through the mystery and call us, claim us, love us. As you did on Easter, you reveal that you are not removed from the world, but that you are here, with us, through death and life, in the tomb of decay and the garden of growth, you are with us here in the world.

Reveal yourself to us today.

Where we see violence and destruction in the bombings of churches throughout Sri Lanka, where we watch the aftermath of shootings, as in New Zealand, reveal the wings of your comfort, the shelter of your arms, the balm of your care.

Where we see vigilante militias along the United States border treat refugees and asylum-seekers as criminals, reveal the power of your justice, the commitments of your love, and the renewal of your protection.

Where we see the violence in Libya where hundreds are dying and over one thousand wounded in the battle for control of the capital, Tripoli, reveal your compassion and wisdom to bring these fighting factions to achieve peace for the country’s people.

Where we see the brutality of domestic abuse and the secrets of family pain, as with the family found in the cave in Spain, reveal to us how you grieve the loss of your children, how you rage at the ways we abuse each other or do not to see the abuse of each other, how you call us to commit again to caring for your vulnerable ones.

Where we see political protests in places around the word, like Sudan and Hong Kong, reveal how you lift up the lowly and bring down the mighty from their thrones. We know that not all shouting voices should be given the megaphone, yet we also know that what we think of as power and might, will pass away as grass in your sight.

Where we see the erosion of environment and the increasing anxiety over resources, with loss of rainforests in Brazil and months of drought in Australia, reveal how you have poured your care into every aspect of Creation, and how you demand that we more faithfully steward this world entrusted to us.

Where we see tragedy and death this week from the natural elements in the Philippines from earthquakes, landslides in Columbia and floods and mudslides in South Africa, reveal your consoling arms to surround these victims and their bereaved loved ones in love and strength to endure their loss.

Where we need to see your face, Lord, we pray that you will show up before us and remind us again that nothing, not even death, will separate us from you.

You have called to us before. Call to us now.

Amen.

World News in Prayer – Thursday 18 April 2019

Holy One,

As Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France burned this week, so many millions of us were bound together in heartbreak. As Notre Dame emerged damaged but not fully destroyed, so many millions were bound together in hope. As we consider Paris and Notre Dame, we pray for fulfilling and fruitful work of healing and rebuilding; we pray that this rebuilding might continue to draw us all together in a community of care.

We realize that such unity is how you hold the world at every moment. You gaze upon us with such sorrow when we destroy the world that you created. You gaze upon us with such delight when we work to save and strengthen the kin-dom you promise. You hold us all in your embrace. We seek to be united as we were this week – but rather than united by bonds of horror-filled helplessness, we pray that we might be united by bonds of awestruck, peaceful rejoicing. Teach us how to care for this world that you loved so deeply that you died for it.

Lord, hear us and answer our prayer.

Teach us how to love this world through the bleakness of Holy Week and into the earth-shaking radiance of Easter morning.

Lord, hear us and answer our prayer.

As we read the Easter story, teach us how to care for women who are not believed when they tell their stories; for men who hide their fear and despair in order not to be seen as “weak”; for authorities who make decisions that send unseen ripple effects through the generations.

Lord, hear us and answer our prayer.

As we consider this world that you love, teach us how to care for those grieving after the bus accident in Madeira, Portugal for those affected by rockets in Tripoli, Libya; for those protesting in Khartoum, Sudan after political unrest; for those caught up in tension over the upcoming election in Ukraine; for those living with economic crisis in Venezuela, for those living with widespread violence in Yemen.

Lord, hear us and answer our prayer.

And this week particularly, teach us how to care for other sacred places under threat – for the 3 historic and historically black churches that were burned by a terrorist in Louisiana, USA; for the Al-Aqsa mosque that burned in Jerusalem, Israel; for synagogues after last fall’s mass shooting in Pittsburgh, USA; for the religious lands of indigenous people across the globe, which have been sacrificed countless times across the years for new developments and pipelines.

Lord, hear us and answer our prayer.

This week we acknowledge that darkness is real and that death will make a stand.

Lord, hear us and know that in the midst of such darkness and conflict, we trust in your light, love and power.

Yet this week we also declare with prayers and shouts, instruments and song, that death shall not have the final word. You are doing a new thing, even when all seems lost.

We pray these things because you are alive and with us. Living Lord, unseal the tomb, roll away the stone, and reveal to us how you are transforming the world.

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, April 11, 2019

God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” –Genesis 1:29-30 

What my grandparents did, we are doing now, not leaving footprints. You westerners must see what we are. We came to ask you to respect our culture. We came to ask you to come to our territory, if you respect us you will come. We do not want war as our ancestors did; we only want to be heard. We want peace, compassion and understanding. – Excerpt of Waorani women’s song in a courthouse in Ecuador to halt illegal oil drilling on their forested lands.

OH, God, our creator, you are listening to singing in this world. You hear crying and our pleas as well. You know our tears and feel our deep suffering.  We call for your mercy on the many horrors of war, famine, displacement, imprisonment and inequality.

The movement of the wind across dry lands that thirst also carries Spirit. Nourish and protect the people of North Korea where one-third of the rice paddies have dried up in a 100-year drought.  Give them hope. Call us to action in Puerto Rico where fresh water access is jeopardized and being rationed and in India where its population of 1.3 billion people will endure extreme water stress as ground water moisture is not being replenished. Awaken us to the drought in Sao Paulo, Brazil as people may be forced to flee, as de-forestation of the Amazon and long-term pollution of water leaves little to drink. Help us to discern a way through this global crisis. Help us to hear the words of our elders, teachers and wise-ones.

The movement of people where violence and economic deprivation require all manner of assistance. Holy Spirit dwell among the humanitarian partners receiving over 4.9 million people of which over 1 million are children as they are fleeing Venezuela coming to Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago. We call for your mercies especially for unaccompanied children, for pregnant and nursing mothers. We pray that communities accept the foreigner, the stranger, the homeless and hungry.  May loving acts transcend policies of closed borders.

The flight of people from the floods from Cyclone Idai and the extreme damage it has wrought is overwhelming. Sustain those providing humanitarian aid for the hundreds of thousands of people in the port of Beira, Mozambique as contaminated water spreads cholera. Sustain the Ministry of Health as infrastructure is severely disrupted. Bring an end to suffering, calm the anxious, the lost, the grieving, those that feel all hope is gone.  Shelter the homeless of Zimbabwe and comfort the suffering of Malawi as the waters recede and the dead are grieved.

We pray for the Rohingya peoples fleeing Myanmar, many now forced by human trafficking cartels into cages in makeshift prisons in Malaysia and Thailand. Bring justice to these places and times, shield the suffering captives from further harm. We learn of the rapid rise in the building of prisons in China where over one million Muslims are thought to be imprisoned in the guise of re-education.  Oh how troubled and in need of your mercy are we as a global community.

Prayers this day and into the night are like the lights that come on at evening, as darkness descends around the world. Bright of day clarity shifts to soft silhouettes as we tire, help up us to set down our burdens and worries, to give them to your powerful ways.  May we remember to be grateful for what is and what is not, Oh, Lord, Father, Mother…Great One, Protector of all.

Help us to know you in our darkest nights and in the blinding glare of midday. We pray for the victims of genocide in Syria where 500,000 are dead and where the UN has documented evidence of mass killings and the targeting of Syrian children by its own government for brutal torture and slaughter.  We pray too for the people of Libya where dozens, including civilians have died and nearly two hundred wounded in recent days in rebel fighting in the capital Tripoli. So much anguish and misery, deep unendurable loss, and yet we find our way forward with prayers for reconciliation and peace. We honor the 800,000 dead remembering the violence of Rwanda twenty-five years later.  As nations stood by, terror and genocide born out of hate speech rolled over the land. We grieve in this world of sorrow. Teach us to love, to forgive. We call upon you, Oh Lord; to bless our mouths with words of kindness, give our hands energy for healing and tenderness.  Console the orphan and widowed. Bring wisdom to our leaders such that these atrocities do not happen.  Open our eyes to the cost of anger, fear and hatred.

In our grasping and avoiding of Your Will, remind us that indeed Your Work is to be done here on this earth as in the heavens. May we hear in this moment, in this Lenten season your eternal call to us to love as Christ loved us, as he taught us to turn the other cheek, to befriend the widow, visit the prisoner and cherish our children.  Awaken us to what it means to receive Living Water.  Deepen our will to serve and love one another. Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, 3 May 2018

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.  (African American spiritual)

O God, when our hearts are breaking, when our souls are wounded, to whom else shall we turn? Where else shall we bring our prayers, our concerns, our woundedness, our confusion, but to you? For you have the words of eternal life, those words of comfort and peace for which we long, even as tears for the hurts of this world course down our faces.

Together, we pray for the people of Armenia, Honduras, Libya, Malaysia, and Turkey, as unrest over elections continues, as the people yearn for justice and truth and integrity from their political leaders. And our hearts yearn with them.

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.

Together, we pray for the victims of the two suicide bomb attacks in Kabul, Afghanistan, along with the families of those killed including 8 journalists and photographer Shah Marai; for the victims of the blast at a mosque in northeast Nigeria which has killed more than 27, as the people yearn for hope and peace and safety. And our hearts yearn with them.

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.

Together, we pray for those seeking the abatement of nuclear threats in Iran and North Korea, as people everywhere fear for the continued well-being of this planet and its inhabitants. And our hearts yearn with them.

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.

Together, we pray that the supporters and opponents of DACA and immigration in the United States might come to some just agreement, even as those in the caravan of Central Americans seeking asylum long only to be seen as people of worth. And our hearts yearn with them.

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul.

O God of all creation, you call us all your children and so, when our hearts are breaking, when our souls are wounded, we turn to you. We bring our prayers, our concerns, our woundedness, our confusion to you. For you have the words of eternal life, those words of comfort and peace for which we long. And so, guide our steps as we work for peace and justice. Guide our words as we speak out for what is right. Open our hearts to the truth of your love and acceptance and compassion, that we might be your presence in this world of ours. Let this be so. Amen.

World News this Week in Prayer – April 5, 2018

An Aftermath Prayer

(Luke 24:32-33)

Holy God, You defeated doubt and death on Easter morning. You turned the world of what is possible and impossible upside down. You gave us Resurrection.

Now comes the aftermath.

In the aftermath of many things in life we often fail to follow through with our joy, our intentions, our beliefs, our commitment. On that first Easter day some of Jesus’ followers struggled to believe. In the aftermath their tests were many.

God of Easter we count on You in all the days after, when Easter joy fades and circumstances challenge our faith.

In the aftermath of hurricanes across the Caribbean nations, the United States and it’s territories, help us not to forget the work of rebuilding and long recovery.

In the aftermath of refugees escaping Syria, Libya, Eritrea and Myanmar help us not to forget their need for peace and freedom from fear.

In the aftermath of families torn apart by immigration policies help us not to forget their love for each other and your love for the world.

In the aftermath of gun violence help us not to forget our stewardship of life.

In the aftermath of a martyrs assassination 50 years ago and as the tolling of the Clayborn Temple bell echos around the world help us not to forget that the work of freedom and justice calls us.

In the aftermath of misrule in Zimbabwe and Venezuela help us not to forget the yearnings of people to live free.

In the aftermath of religious persecution in China, North Korea and Pakistan help us not to forget the sacred in each worshipper.

In the aftermath of plant closings, wag discrimination, downsizing and outsourcing, help us not to forget that all work has dignity, that all workers need and deserve respect.

In the aftermath of atrocities and continuation of the horrendous civil wars in Sudan and Burkina Faso and Yemen help us not to forget the Prince of Peace who lives still.

In the aftermath of age-old enmity in the Balkans and in the Middle East help us not to forget the truth of Amazing Grace.

In the aftermath of this life, in this age, we pray that we experience your Emmaus-like presence and find our “hearts burning within us” (Luke 24:32-33), compelling us to declare “It is true. The Lord has risen.”

In our aftermath may we live the Good News. Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, March 15, 2018

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art:
Thou my best thought both by day and by night,
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light. (Irish Traditional, Tune SLANE)

O Light of the World, we stumble around in the darkness of this world which confounds us and causes us to live in fear, and through tear-filled eyes we see the pain and struggle in this world:

  • the President of the Philippines, Duterte, withdrawing the country from the International Criminal Court rather than own up to injustices committed;
  • sex slavery rampant in Nigeria and Libya, with kidnappings of young women continuing regularly;
  • the recent plane crash in Nepal with at least 49 dead and many others injured;
  • Soviet-era nerve agents being used to strike down double agent, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter in England, resulting in the ousting of 23 Soviet diplomats from the U.K.;
  • the extreme cold weather affecting the Eastern United States and the United Kingdom.

Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord.
Thou my souls shelter, and thou my high tow’r.
Raise thou me heav’nward, O Pow’r of my power.

But you continue to shine light into the darkness, Holy One; you continue to speak in a voice both wise and true, and so we can lift our hearts and voices in gratitude and rejoicing for:

  • the life and work of Stephen Hawking, the incredible scientist who overcame great physical disability to come to symbolize the power of the human mind, as he sought to explain some of the most complicated questions of life;
  • the possibility of a summit between Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, with the hope for maintaining peace in East Asia;
  • the thousands of young people throughout the United States who, on the one-month anniversary of the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, organized a walk-out to raise awareness about gun violence and to hold their legislators accountable;
  • Viola Desmond, known as Canada’s Rosa Parks, becoming the first black person to appear on Canadian currency, announced on International Women’s Day;
  • the countless ordinary citizens who are choosing the difficult path of running for office in order to do justice, to love kindness, and to assure equality for all people.

Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise,
Thou mine inheritance, now and always;
Thou and thou only, the first in my heart,
Great God of heaven, my treasure thou art.

Great God of heaven, open our hearts and minds and eyes to see this world and its peoples as you see us, always through the lens of Love, incarnated in Jesus the Christ and in us, your own beloved children.

Let this be so. Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, 7th November 2017

Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:1-2, NRSV)

God of comfort, we live in a world that increasingly reveals its disconnection from you.  We feel the deepening of the artificial divisions of nation, race, and religion as the Supreme Court in the United States allows a ban to go into effect that will prevent refugees and families from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen from entering the United States.  Wars and the threat of new conflicts abound, and fears mount as countries like North Korea demonstrate their military might with ever-escalating missile tests.  We cry out to you in our exile and ask, ‘How long, O Lord?’  Bring to us the comfort that you have promised.  Be present with us in our pain and fear and worry.  Cause us to see your face in the faces of our neighbors both near and far.

A voice cries out:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’  (Isaiah 40:3-5, NRSV)

God of glory, we long for the day of your revelation.  Your children around the world continue to suffer in places like Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, Myanmar, and so many others.  The earth cries out for justice as natural resources are abused and protected lands are exposed, like in the United States’ Bears Ears National Monument, which is set to lose 85% of its acreage in a policy change.  The impact of pollution grows in places like Delhi, India, where toxic air quality levels have threatened the health of residents for weeks.  Guide us in preparing the way for your coming.  Give us hearts for service and wisdom to act with justice.

Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good tidings;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,
lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
‘Here is your God!’ (Isaiah 40:9, NRSV)

God of hope, in this season of Advent, remind us of the glad tidings of great joy that come to us as a baby in a manger.  Open our eyes to the good news of Christ’s presence in our lives and in the lives of all people, especially those who suffer and are in need.  And give us hope in the glorious future of your coming kingdom, when your justice shall reign and your love shall transform the world.

See, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead the mother sheep. (Isaiah 40:10-11, NRSV)

Amen.

World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, May 11, 2017

[Jesus said to the disciples,] “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.  In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.  And you know the way to where I am going.”  Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”    John 14:1-6, ESV

 

God of solace and peace, through Your Son, You spoke to us a word of comfort:  “Let not your hearts be troubled.”  And yet we look around the world and we find many reasons to be troubled.  We see suffering and broken relationships that we know are the result of our sin, and we confess these sins to You. Change our hearts, O God,

And have mercy on us.

We have allowed this beautiful planet in which You lovingly prepared a place for us to suffer from our neglect and abuse.  Officials in Nepal have announced the highly polluted state of air in the sacred site of Lumbini, the historic birthplace of Buddha.  The future of the Paris, France climate agreement, which has already been ratified by 140 countries, is uncertain in light of comments made by the president of the US that he wants to pull out of the deal.  We strip the earth of natural resources with little concern for its impact on our world or for the safety of those who do the work; this week, at least 42 people have died in an explosion at a coal mine near Azadshahr, Iran.  We confess our tendency to turn our focus inward, overusing and abusing the earth for our own purposes.  Change our hearts, O God,

And have mercy on us.

We skew the good news, turning “I am the way, the truth, and the life” from an invitation into a threat. We forget Your message of love and inclusion of all, announcing that there is no room in our communities for people who look different from us or act differently than us.  We turn a blind eye to the suffering of children in war-torn areas, like those suffering from a cholera outbreak in Yemen due to a breakdown in infrastructure.  Even as 250 more refugees have drowned this week in shipwrecks off the coast of Libya, we continue to ignore the desperation of refugees who risk everything to escape the fear and pain of life in their home countries.  We confess our tendency to turn our focus inward, denying the humanity of people we see as different.  Change our hearts, O God,

And have mercy on us.

We ignore the path You’ve left for us to follow, choosing to put our trust in our own power or in the power of earth’s corruptible and fallible human rulers.  Political anger and unrest grow around the world, with two more polarizing elections leading to the victories of Moon Jae-in in South Korea and Emmanuel Macron in France.  Nearly 20 government officials have been convicted and sentenced for negligence and abuse of power in Shenzhen, China after their part in a landfill landslide which resulted in the deaths of 73 people in 2015.  Many of Your children suffer at the hands of those in power, like the hundreds of innocent people who were affected by tear gas used on protesters when the gas seeped into homes, schools, and a hospital in Caracas, Venezuela. We confess our tendency to turn our focus inward, placing our hope in earthly powers that can only disappoint us.  Change our hearts, O God,

And have mercy on us.

Even as many countries around the world celebrate Mother’s Day, we silently watch as families experience estrangement, abandonment, and every form of abuse.  We turn away from the pain of those who have lost their parents or for whom experiences of parenthood have been difficult.  We ignore the isolation felt by people who cannot or choose not to have children.  We confess our tendency to turn our focus inward, neglecting to see and respond to the needs of those around us.  Change our hearts, O God,

And have mercy on us.

Despite all of the pain in the world, You direct us: “Let not your hearts be troubled.”  For, in the words of Your Son, “In my Father’s house are many rooms.”  Remind us, O God of welcome, that, unlike the overcrowded inns of Bethlehem on the night of Jesus’ birth, there is plenty of room for everyone in Your kingdom.  And unlike the spaces of our world, where people of different colors, shapes, opinions, languages, and abilities are rejected or at best begrudgingly tolerated, in Your kingdom everyone truly belongs.  Fill our hearts with gratitude for this good news, O Lord, and embolden us to be Your hands and voices in the world, that we might build an image of Your all-encompassing house of love and reconciliation here on earth, for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.