Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove your evil deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do good; seek justice; rescue the oppressed; defend the orphan; plead for the widow. – Isaiah 1:16-17
God of the least, the lost, the unseen, we come before you today humbly acknowledging our misdeeds, how too-often we take pride in our prayers, comfort in our worship…
When what you long for, Holy One, is for us to care for those you love, so;
- We grieve systems that imprison Indigenous children in Australia under conditions UN investigators call “torture”;
- We mourn Venezuela’s political prisoners held in prolonged repression and injustice;
- We lament the disregard for judicial fairness as Brazil sanctions a justice accused of censorship and abuse;
- We pray for the journalist in Georgia unjustly sentenced, as freedom of speech and press are constrained.
- We lament how earlier inaction has endangered the oppressed and violated their dignity by withholding climate accountability.
But all is not pain and grief. There are glimmers of hope. If only we have eyes to see.
- We give thanks for the peaceful milestone as Jennifer Geerlings-Simons was elected as Suriname‘s first female president, a beacon of representation and hope.
- We give thanks for the ICJ’s (International Court of Justice) advisory opinion declaring that protecting our planet and its vulnerable is a moral and legal imperative.
- We rejoice that a Somali refugee artist in Ethiopia found dignity, purpose, and a path to uplift others through legal recognition and creative vocation.
Stir us from our comfort, and knit us together in holy community, that we may become your hands in the world; lifting the lowly, welcoming the stranger, and protecting your creation.
May our faith be wide enough to hold lament and joy, and our hearts bold enough to imagine your kingdom come.
In Christ, our Companion and Guide, we pray. Amen.
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