Wednesday, October 14, 2020
O Lord, You Made Us Such: A Prayer
O Lord, you made us such
that in order
to survive
we need
air,
water,
sugar,
and
tenderness.
There's plenty
of the first three to be found,
but the last one
is in short supply,
hard to find anywhere
these days,
not heard much in voices,
not sensed much in posts or texts or tweets,
not seen much in behavior,
maybe now and then
in a YouTube video,
but feeling
staged somehow,
meant for the camera,
not really real,
like some Facebook feelings
or Morning News emotions on cue,
“See how sensitive I am” faces
and feelings,
and so
tenderness
rare,
very rare,
and the thing is,
without tenderness
people finally curl up and die inside
or just plain die,
so needed it is;
what's not rare:
tough-guy talk,
callous comments,
menacing messages,
more and more people
sounding like they walked out of a political ad;
what's not rare:
fear,
anger,
anxiety;
what's not rare:
everyone an enemy,
everyone a threat,
everyone out to take what we've got,
(unless, of course, they vote like we do);
And maybe
that's it,
what’s pretty much
killed
tenderness,
kindness,
gentleness,
and what's pretty much
killing us
as people,
as a nation,
because the thing is,
without tenderness
all we will have
is what we have become,
what it seems more and more have become,
silk-flower selves,
look real enough,
but not real at all,
not real
human beings,
at least not in any way
that matters much;
and what our nation has become,
not a union at all, but a
dysfunctional,
discordant,
disunion.
O Lord, forgive us!
Forgive us
if we have forgotten
what matters most.
Forgive us
if we have allowed ourselves to
get caught up in it all,
be taken in by it all,
buy into it all,
the nonsense and nastiness,
the ridiculous ranting and ludicrous lies,
the fear and the anger.
Forgive us
if we have become something other than
the real human being
you
call and
command us
to be.
O Lord, if need be…
Bring us back
to our senses.
Break the spell
so many seem to be under.
Beckon us
to return to you.
And if need be…
Resurrect within us
compassion and consideration
for others.
Revive within us
kindness and gentleness.
Restore within us
love,
tenderness.
And if need be ...
Grace us with the courage to be
compassionate and considerate,
the courage needed
to ignore
the cuts of the callous.
Grant us the strength to show
kindness and gentleness,
the strength needed
to ignore
the taunts of tough guy talkers.
Give us the will to express and act with
tenderness,
the will needed
to ignore
the ridicule of the ridiculous ranters.
O Lord, there are so many today who especially need
a compassionate response,
a kind word,
a tender act:
those who are fighting the coronavirus;
those who are battling other frightening diseases;
those who are mourning;
those put out of work by the virus
and don't know what they'll do;
those who are isolated and alone.
Move government at all levels to respond with
compassion;
and move us to show the kindness and tenderness
that gives hope.
And the police and the protesters,
the refugees and detainees and children forgotten,
the homeless and hungry now overlooked –
let us remember them
and pray for them,
support them,
uphold their cause,
respond to their deep need.
O Lord, even in the midst of all that is happening,
especially
in the midst of all that is happening,
even when, especially when,
it seems we have little to be thankful for,
help us
to give you
thanks
for your tender mercies
and the tender mercies of others
that save us
from one day to the next,
and make life
worth the living,
beautiful
and
bearable
no matter what.
Amen.