March 3, 2021
Tiger Is Injured in a Car Accident: A Prayer
O Lord, Tiger is injured in a car accident
and the news
leads the news,
more important than any other news,
biggest
news of the day
such a big name he is;
a film star dies
and he gets
a starring role
one last time, gets
rave reviews
one last time,
no other death newsworthy enough
to be news
on the news;
some celebrity
has a problem,
and his or her anguish
is more anguishing more than anyone else’s anguish,
so anguishing
to be news enough
to earn a special interview
with an anguished interviewer,
the anguish of the anguisher
big news,
leaving me
anguishing
over why I
keep tuning in,
keep watching,
keep listening.
O Lord, is it just me or do others also think
values are out of whack,
priorities are out of whack,
our culture
just plain
whacko?
Don’t get me wrong,
I feel
for Tiger,
for the film star’s family,
for the celebrity who anguishes,
but no more so
than for anyone else,
well, ok,
maybe less for them
than others.
It’s just that
I keep thinking about
the man I knew
who died alone in the hospital from the coronavirus,
no family with him,
not allowed,
only strangers,
yes, caring strangers nursing him,
but strangers
still;
and all the others
among the 500,00
who have died
who have died
alone.
That’s real anguish,
big news in my book,
a lead story
if there ever was one.
And someone’s neighbor
I heard about,
no family, no children, no anyone,
old enough to have no friends left,
and so,
no one to turn to,
because
everyone thinks
everyone has
someone.
And I can go on and on,
the guy, the young woman,
struggling with, suffering from,
after effects of the virus,
lasting for months,
being told it’s all
in their heads;
the family needing food,
the man, the woman needing a job,
the kids not in school,
stressed and depressed,
fighting off scary thoughts,
parents
fighting off scary thoughts.
And then,
I think of neighbors who are being a neighbor
to their neighbors;
people donating food;
people lending a hand;
people being there, being with, others;
people who are making a difference here and there;
people who try to be loving and kind and supportive
day after day;
real stars
who should get
rave reviews;
no big names,
but big news
still,
real news
that should lead the news
in a world like ours.
O Lord, forgive us if we have forgotten
what we should value,
what is truly important,
what should truly matter.
Forgive us
if somewhere along the way,
we have lost our way,
have gone our own way,
have forgotten who is the way.
Forgive us
if culture
forms us
more than
Christ
transforms us;
if we forget Christ,
don’t give him a thought
most days.
O Lord,
love us into
loving you
more than all our other loves;
love us into
returning to you,
returning to your way,
returning to the way
we should be;
love us into
living with
greater compassion,
greater kindness,
greater mercy.
And we continue to pray, Lord, for all those devastated by the coronavirus.
Be with them,
healing, sustaining, comforting, supporting, lifting them
in hope.
O Lord, help us to come to our senses,
to realize
that the only news you think is
big news,
a lead story,
a feature worth featuring,
is the story of people
following your lead,
being good news to others,
living lives featuring Christ being
the center
of their lives.
Help
us
to be
such stories!
Amen.