You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. -Luke 10:27
“it is
written in the law.” heart
& soul. love. neighbor.
even if they aren’t nice. another
chance to hear that answer.
–From luke poem by Brian G. Gilmore
Even as the lawyer questioned Jesus, gracious and loving and welcoming God, we come before you asking that same question: “Who is my neighbor?” And even as the answer was not easy for that man to hear, so it is not easy for many of us, as we look around our world with eyes and hearts filled with fear, thinking of the suicide bomber at the Afghan Supreme Court in Kabul, Afghanistan, who killed 20 and wounded more than 40; thinking of the more than 13,000 civilians who have been hanged by the Syrian government for daring to oppose the government; thinking of the move by the Israeli government to legalize thousands of settler homes on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, displacing the residents already there and presenting an obstacle to the peace process; thinking of the countless immigrants and refugees struggling to reach places of safety and hope.
Open our minds and hearts, O God, that we may love our neighbors as ourselves, recognizing everyone as our neighbor.
Even as some within our world, within our societies, deny the reality of the changing climate, and deny the need to protect the environment, our call to love our neighbor means that we pray today for the Standing Rock Tribe in North Dakota, U.S., as the U.S. Army is about to give permission for the Dakota Access pipeline, despite protests in which nearly 700 have been arrested. We pray for the Saiga antelope in Mongolia, which is being wiped out by an uncontrolled virus that threatens the entire antelope population. We pray for those affected by the tornadoes which have swept through Louisiana, U.S., causing widespread damage in New Orleans East, injuring 20 and severely damaging more than 60 homes and businesses. We pray for those buried by the avalanche in North Nuristan Province in Afghanistan, where at least 120 are dead and scores more are missing, even as rescue workers try valiantly to save the survivors.
Open our minds and hearts, O God, that we may love our neighbors as ourselves, recognizing everyone as our neighbor.
With that long-ago lawyer, we can so easily lose sight of the reality of our connectedness to one another, even those with whom we differ, even those whom we never see. And so, today, we pray for all those in the United States concerned about women’s health and reproductive rights; we pray for the healthcare workers in Caracas, Venezuela, who are protesting to demand government action for improved health care in that country, as hospitals are in crisis, medications and equipment are scarce, staffing is insufficient, and people are suffering; we pray for the people of Somalia, as they face a contentious presidential election on the rocky road to democracy.
Open our minds and hearts, O God, that we may love our neighbors as ourselves, recognizing everyone as our neighbor.
But even into those places where we hide in our fear and confusion, you come, Divine Light, filling our awareness with hope. And so we pray in thanksgiving for the people of Colombia as their government begins peace talks with rebels in a bid to end a five-decade conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people. We pray in thanksgiving for Australia, as they mark 50 years without executions. And we pray with thanksgiving for the doctors and researchers who are pioneering the use of lasers in removing brain cancer.
Open our minds and hearts, O God, that we may love our neighbors as ourselves, recognizing everyone as our neighbor.
All of these people and places that fill our prayers we entrust into your gracious and loving hands, God of welcome and inclusion – even as we are ever mindful that we do not love you with our whole heart, soul, strength, and mind, nor do we love our neighbors as ourselves.
This, we confess; for this, we ask forgiveness, living in the assurance of your grace.
Amen and amen.
What a powerful prayer. in times such as this. It is so difficult to recognize God in each person and in ourself as well. If we did, what a different place this world would be.