January 13, 2021
First The Shock, Then The Sadness, And Then The Anger: A Prayer
O Lord, first it was the shock of it,
then came
the sadness of it,
and then the anger;
the shock
of seeing
the Capitol stormed,
the Congress under siege,
the Constitution scorned;
then the sadness,
the sadness
of senseless deaths,
a Capitol policeman
heroically
doing his duty,
four rioters rioting
trying to stop Congress from
doing its duty,
no heroes they
but terrifying terrorists
terrorizing;
the sadness
that it has come
to this,
violence
our new form of
communication,
violent posts,
violent words,
violent actions,
no patriots here,
only vile vandals
violating;
the sadness
of realizing that
Christians
out front,
rioting with the best of them,
as violent as the worst of them,
no servants here,
just thugs
out-thugging
the thugs;
and the anger,
angry
because
people would actually
encourage,
enflame,
excuse
such violence;
angry
because
we shouldn’t have to live like this,
afraid,
new threats threatening,
neighbors enemies;
angry
because
we are destroying
the land we love.
O Lord, what is happening to us?
When did we
abandon
principles
for profits?
(Hey, as long as you put money in my pocket,
you can do
whatever you like.)
When did we
abandon
truth
for the lovely lies we have come to love?
(Hey, if it's what I want to hear, it’s true.
No lie).
When did we
abandon
trust
for suspicion?
(Hey, what do you mean? I trust everyone
who agrees with me.
Well, maybe)
Have we learned
nothing?
You have taught us that
a house divided against itself
cannot stand;
that words matter,
untamed tongues can set
the world on fire;
that unless
we love one another
surely we shall die.
And yet,
here we are,
divided, unbridled tongues running wild, lost
in breathtaking
self-absorption and
self-serving.
O Lord, forgive us, forgive every last one of us,
because not a one of us
is guiltless,
we all of us together
have brought this
down on our heads,
and only
all of us together
will change things.
And so
grace us with
the strength,
the courage,
the will,
to live principled lives,
to seek what is true and right and honorable,
to build up trust between us,
to overcome what divides us,
to tame our tongues,
and yes,
to use that moth-eaten, flea-bitten word,
love,
love you
by loving
the neighbor
as ourselves.
And as long as we’re on the subject, Lord, forgive us
if in
our weariness,
our wanting normalcy,
our weakening resolve,
we do not take
the coronavirus
with the seriousness we should,
(Hey, we’re only talking a million or so dying, no need for masks, right?),
or try to ignore
the pain of
those who suffer with it,
the healthcare workers who can’t take much more,
those who mourn the death of a spouse,
a parent, a child, a grandparent, a friend,
those who have lost their businesses,
their jobs, can’t put food on
the table or pay the rent,
those falling deeper into depression.
Forgive us
if we have bought into the
callousness of culture,
and move us
to keep praying for all those devastated and
to do whatever we can
to help them.
O Lord, you have been our help in ages past, and
our hope
for years to come.
Be our help now
in these chaotic,
fearful days,
help us to be the best
we have it in us to be,
as believers,
citizens,
a nation,
and to trust in you
so that
peace descends,
and we have hope
for a future
far better than what our present has become.
Amen.