Violent protests, burning and looting in Pretoria, South Africa, over mayoral election…
Foreign supporters of ISIS have taken over Sirte, Libya, murdering, torturing, crucifying Muslims and Christians…
Russian fighters are dropping cluster bombs in Syria, indiscriminately endangering and killing civilians and children as well as fighters…
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Violence and hatred is being stirred up in elections and referendum debates in the USA¸ the UK, and so many countries around the world…
Singers are being targeted and killed in Pakistan, Canada, and the USA…
Rape, as ever, is being used against women and children in Australia, South Korea, India, and too many other countries to mention…
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
The Australian government has passed a law preventing medical personnel caring for refugee immigrants imprisoned on Nauru from discussing or disclosing the physical and mental problems they are encountering even among children. Inhumane conditions and procedures are routine including removal of medicine and medical equipment from the refugees.
But there are peace talks between FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army) and the Colombian government after more than 50 years of brutal civil war.
We celebrate the courage and determination being shown by primarily Democratic members of the House of Representatives in the United States demanding the chance to vote on legislation for increased gun control. The horror of the lives lost needlessly through the ready access to guns massively outweighs any deaths from terrorism. Lord, help us to realize that lives are more important than weapons. May justice and peace prevail over self-interest and self-absorption in the pseudo-machismo so often associated with powerful weapons. Teach us to be men and women as you envisage and created us to be, without the need for force and fear perpetrated on others often innocent or vulnerable.
Lord, may justice and peace and right living in harmony with one another become not merely a wish but a reality, now.
In the UK people are being urged and inspired to reject hate and work together for a better community, building on what unites rather than divides us thereby providing a legacy of the murdered M.P. Jo Cox.
We give thanks for the generous giving of over a £1.5 million (approx..$2 million USD) in memory of Jo Cox to help those lonely and marginalized in the UK, Syria, and to provide humanitarian aid which will change lives.
Lord, bless and magnify this life-giving expression of love and care and all such efforts wherever they exist.
My heart breaks when I read and see the news and sometimes I can’t bear it and howl from the depths of my being in pain, anger, and disbelief at what we humans can do to each other.
Open our eyes Lord, open our ears so that we hear not just with our physical sense but from all that you have given us, to the cries and pleas of our brothers and sisters. Shake us from our blind complacency that what is convenient and cheap for us often comes at extremely high cost to others working for pence in conditions that would never be tolerated in our own countries.
Remind us that we are all inextricably bound to one another wherever we live on this planet – when crops cannot accommodate the changes in temperatures and oceans continue to be polluted and ravished for whatever we think would make our lives or tables more comfortable.
Lord, open our eyes to our sinfulness – all that separates us from you and your heart and will.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
We give thanks for the peacemakers, whether it is on the big scale like Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, or all those working quietly in their own communities on small projects to bring disparate and hostile and often fearful groups together. We give thanks for imaginative projects like the Israel Clown School bringing together Jewish and Muslim youngsters. Help us to think outside the box, so that peace, justice, love, and hope can reign on earth as it is in heaven.
As we go forward into another week, O God, we cast our cares, sorrows, concerns, joys, and thanksgiving at your feet. You are our rock and our deliverer; our shield, and resting place; the light which shines on and in our darkness. Remind us, as Michael Stancliffe expressed so simply, yet profoundly, in Symbols and Dances, “…before speaking, there must be silence, and that what we say and how we say it, will come out of what we have learned in silence, about God, about ourselves, and about those whom we are trying to help.”
God of all, creator, redeemer, provoking, and empowering Holy Spirit, you invite each one of us to discover our own meaning and reality in you when you say: “I am the Way. Walk me. / I am the Truth. Sing me. / I am the Life. Live me.”
AMEN.
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