June 2, 2021
Help Us Not To Do What We always Do: A Prayer
O Lord, before we start doing
what we as Americans
always seem to do,
help us not to do
what we as Americans
always seem to do
and have probably
already started to do
because
it seems
we can’t stop doing
what we as Americans
always do:
bury our heads in the sand;
ignore realities we don’t like;
pretend that things
are better than they are;
quickly forget
the traumas that traumatized us,
the threats that threatened us,
the troubles that troubled us;
go shopping.
And many Christians right there,
choosing
Pollyanna
over
Paul
every time (Evil? What evil?)
And so help us,
because
the thing is,
it doesn’t work,
doing what we always do
doesn’t work,
problems still there,
solutions still not there,
only the same questions,
and the same answers,
no answers at all,
things no better (not really)
when we do what
we as Americans
always do.
But who can blame us, O Lord?
Thirteen months of
disease, death, despondency;
more months than that of
upheaval, uncertainty, unrest;
still more months than that of
political turmoil,
protests,
political turmoil;
and
the shootings,
the violence,
unending.
So who can blame us
if we want to
have some peace of mind (What’s that like?)
enjoy ourselves (Such a shortage of joy there’s been);
have some fun again (Is that even possible?);
not always be so afraid;
be carefree once more?
So who can blame us
if we want to
escape,
vacate,
forget,
get some rays (that’d be my choice),
or just
go shopping.
But it doesn’t do the trick, Lord, not really,
well, for a while maybe,
then
not.
And so
we need your help
to live in this world with
eyes wide open,
hearts wide open,
minds wide open;
and still
live with hope and peace and joy, and
love this world
as you love this world
and help heal and mend and make it
new.
And so
help us
to turn away
from our childish ways
and grow up
into
an adult faith (sorry, Pollyanna),
a faith
that rejoices in the goodness of many
while being revolted by the evil in many;
that delights in kindness
while being disgusted by cruelty;
that celebrates serving
while being appalled by all the
self-serving;
a faith
that can face
the ugliness all around us
yet not go blind to the breath-taking beauty all around us;
a faith
that can face
the pain and suffering of this world,
yet still have a gaiety of spirit
(check out Jesus or Gandhi);
a faith
that can face
what we face
without fear
and take it with ultimate seriousness without
becoming so deadly serious that we
deaden everyone we know;
a faith
that can walk knee-deep into the harsh realities of
our nation and world,
the reality of the way it is,
while holding fast to
the reality of the way you are,
the reality of the hope we have
in you,
and do whatever we can, wherever we are, to
heal, help, be hope
to whomever we can.
O Lord, even if it was thirteen years
we had been praying the same thing we’ve been praying
for thirteen months
I’d keep praying it, praying for
those battling the coronavirus and other diseases;
those trying to put their lives back together;
those struggling with depression;
those searching for a safe haven;
those whose lives have been torn apart
by violence
and grieve a grief
that shouldn’t be.
Heal, comfort, strengthen, accompany, and lift them all.
O Lord, we’re doing again
what we as Americans
always seem to do.
Help us to
stop it, and to
start
living with the faith
that enables us to do
what we as Christians
always should do,
and that even allows us to
go shopping.
Amen.