A Pastoral Prayer for September 11, 2010
Today as we remember a day that we wish we could forget,
we need your transformative and emerging grace
as we see pictures that cause us to feel hostility all over again.
We are all too mindful that this date that still haunts us.
As we attempt to apply your words to life,
And to live by faith as we embrace your promise of a new future
We confess that our anger and grief from that fretful day is not nearly resolved.
And yet we acknowledge that our emptiness doesn’t compare to the hollowness
of those who were touched more directly
through the unexpected and unfair loss
of family members, friends, and co-workers.
We shutter at the memory of horrific images of death and destruction,
We ache over the ongoing armed conflict that seems to be unending,
We grieve over the deaths of the sons and daughters of our nation,
As well as the casualties among our adversaries and our allies.
And we long for a stabilizing and civilizing resolution
So that our sons and daughters may return home safely
And that those who have longed for liberation
Might govern and be governed with dignity and integrity.
Rather than being consumed by our grief,
And constrained by our fears
And constricted by our anxieties,
Let us set our minds to addressing the injustices that precipitate hostility,
Let us direct our souls to living out our moral conviction,
Let us turn our hearts to loving the poor,
and the disadvantaged,
and the disenfranchised.
And let us determine to fight terror,
Not with our own terroristic threats,
But with a responsible and courageous exercise of freedom,
And with a proactive and authentic faith.
And though it challenges our deepest passions,
You continue to teach us to love our enemies,
so that we do not become like them.
Today, especially today, we pray for the leaders of our nation and our world
For the leaders of our state and our community
For the leaders of our churches and our synagogues
To act and react with a wisdom and discernment
That will defuse conflict and advance the cause of peace.
And may we as your children act and react with transformative grace and eternal hope.
In the name of the One who came to bring peace on earth and goodwill to all humankind. Amen
