Praying for Peace and Justice on April 7, 2024
Holy One, we come before you today with hearts heavy from the injustices and acts of violence all over the earth that you created for all of us. Virtually every conflict arises from an issue of racism. You sent Jesus, and other prophets and leaders to teach all people the ways you would have us follow. Some of us gathered here are carrying a particular burden of fear and heartbreak because of the horrific violence in Israel and Gaza. Some of us have friends and family on one side or the other, or both. And our church is committed to New Story leadership for the Middle East. It is devastating to think that this violence started because those in power of these groups wish to annihilate the “other”. I am complicit as my tax dollars pay for the weapons of destruction that the U.S. supplies to Israel. I gasp when I recall that Jews, my ancestors, and Palestinians are cousins that used to live side by side on the same land, perhaps not in perfect peace, but rooted together. Many were neighbors and friends. They shared food, a measure of the hospitality that both groups hold as fundamental to their faith. But now, dehumanization, fear and hatred pervade those who seem to relish this war, regardless of the originating reason. So many are helpless with factions on both sides determined to prevail at all costs. People are being held hostage, people are dying from famine, infrastructures are destroyed, and worse. Too many of your precious people are dead. And so I pray, we pray, Holy One, that you give those around the world the wisdom and strength to practice justice and peace, to love their neighbors as themselves, and keep hope alive for the future. May it be so. Amen and amen.
