PASTORAL PRAYER
Holy and loving God, they reminded us that things change, but we already knew that. We are living in a world and in a time when things are changing all around us, and at a pace that leaves our heads spinning. Truth be told, on our good days, it feels like change; other days, it’s more like disintegration. We pass milestones and cross thresholds all the time: never since World War II… this resembles the great depression… no one alive has been here before… These are not welcome signs, but ones that leave us deeply troubled. The infection rate and death toll statistics, the economic crash alongside soaring unemployment numbers, questions about reopening businesses, restaurants and meat plants, summer beaches and schools in the fall. We worry for the vulnerable and the grieving, the hungry and the homeless, the unemployed and the over-stretched, the anxious and isolated, for those we love and for ourselves.
And even yet, when we slow our breath and calm our pacing, we remember that there are changes opening up around us that we welcome and embrace: new advances in technology that tie us together even while staying apart; scientists and researchers advancing possibilities for vaccine and treatment; medical personnel and first responders, essential workers and ready volunteers who offer all they can and all they are to ease suffering and offer comfort; the increase of compassion and kindness, connection and solidarity. Beauty is being born every day, and grace is flourishing all around us, and for all these gifts, large and small, we give you thanks.
They told us that things change, and they also reminded us that you do not, and for that great truth, we give you thanks, O God. We thank you for hope that holds fast even in the hard times, for your steadfast presence alongside us every step of the way, for enough light to grope our way forward, and for your steady, unrelenting promise that resurrection and new life will always have the last word. Not death or sorrow, not pain or hate, but love and life and you. Help us to trust in your promises and in your love. When we struggle to know where to turn and how to discern our next step, guide us to your path of love. Grant us wisdom and courage, compassion and mercy, that we might not be driven by fear, but always by love: love of you, love of our neighbors and love of ourselves.
Hear our prayers, O God, spoken and unspoken. And hear us as we join together in the prayer Jesus taught, saying: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
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