A Prayer of the People from June 19th, 2022, written by Richard White:
Father, Unbounded by all that binds us, unconfined by all that all that confines us, you are Wholly Other -- so different in being and character that the most creative artist, the most insightful poet, the most piercing intellect of philosopher or scientist cannot comprehend you, describe you, define you, or control you.
You set the course for the swirling gas rivers in the far reaches of the universe, ignited the stars, and shaped the planets. You called the birds to the sky and the fish to the sea. The mountains rose from the depths, the dust of the earth settled, and tree and flower sprang up at your voice. Before there was anyone to observe the seasons, and remember a day that was yesterday or hope for a day that is tomorrow, you were here. We cannot comprehend your vastness, your presence, your power or your timelessness.
Bend our unruly wills to yours we pray. Our best attempts at morality and ethics apart from you are failures. Though we mean it when we say "not my will but thine be done" -- we stubbornly resist your rule on earth as it is in heaven.
Jesus, you are our daily bread. Your Word spoken to us, your body broken for us, sustains us for a journey that is too far for us, too hard for us. Help us travel light as bearers of the good news of your peace, your healing, your love, your strength. Help us lead lives of generosity and resist the sometimes overwhelming urge to gather more and more and more stuff that will be consumed by rust and rot and left for someone else to pack off to Goodwill when we are gone.
We dare not ask you to be more forgiving with us than we are of the surly barista, the cyclist who refuses to obey traffic laws, the homeless who offend us with their trash strewn camps, or the thousand petty things we harbor against each other. But we can ask you to give us discerning eyes to see beyond ourselves and into the hearts and minds and spirits of those who offend us. Help us to discern that which is truly sinful, that which truly offends you -- the arrogant disregard for the poor, lonely, ailing, and oppressed created in your image.
Preserve us from distraction -- whether good and ill. Fill our waking moments with thoughts of you and our sleeping with inspired dreams and visions. Stop us as we race from one task to another, one entertainment to another, one half-read book to another, one crisis to another. Still our troubled minds. Close the windows and doors to the shouting in the street calling us away from you. Deliver us from the evil one who means us harm, who whispers lies, and perverts all that is right and good and blessed.
Strengthen our sisters and brothers whose lives are under threat of violence whether from war or bigotry or an abusive partner. Send a holy messenger to expose the oppressors, stay their hand, and frustrate their plans. Should they steadfastly refuse to repent, bring them swiftly to their just end for the sake of your children.
Lift up the poor who carry the weight of corporate greed and government inaction. We plead with you to mitigate the effects of this economic downturn on those least able to endure it; lay their heavy burden on the backs of shareholders and CEOs; press lawmakers of all persuasions to act in behalf of the vulnerable among us; and bring to repentance those who have the power to protect the poor but refuse do so. Move us to act as well and keep us from participation in the exploitation of the helpless.
Grant all who proclaim the good news of the infinite riches of Christ power equal to their task. May their words pierce hardened hearts and shine light in darkened minds. May the proclaimers of your peace rise above religious trivialities to bring healing to the sin sick. Protect those who steadfastly labor in places of physical, emotional, and spiritual distress and danger. We pray especially for the Jensen family who will soon return to Singapore at a time of great uncertainty and danger. But also for indigenous pastors, teachers, physicians, and entrepreneurs who face oppression and persecution for your name's sake.
Guide us, your little church, as we face together whatever is before us. Grant the transition team wisdom beyond their measure to guide us through confusing times. Grant those who lead us in worship depth of spirit that breaks forth in praise that soothes our troubled minds. Grant those who serve in small ways or large a spirit of joy that makes serving attractive to others.
Guide us together in our journey inward that we may journey outward beyond this time together to serve you in our neighborhoods. Plant us in the center of the city where you have staked your claim as Redeemer of all that is lost.
Father, though you remain a mystery to us, we humbly come to lay these things before you because you revealed yourself in Jesus, your son, as loving, forgiving, generous and just. Even in this little room today, the grace and power of your Holy Spirit are on display. There is none like you. You take our breath away.
We come to worship you -- terrified because your otherness and holiness are a consuming fire. Yet because of the death and resurrection of Christ we believe that in the dying is the rising, in the rising is the living, and in the living is true joy. We come to worship you because when we fell at Jesus' feet, we heard him say, "Do not be afraid ..."
It is in Jesus name we proclaim, to you be the honor, and power, and glory forever,
Amen.