April 13, 2022
It’s Still Pretty Much a Good Friday World: A Prayer
O Lord, it’s still pretty much a Good Friday world,
a world
in which
politicians,
like Pilate before them,
wash their hands of responsibility and
do only the expedient thing, do
whatever preserves their positions,
whatever keep them in power,
whatever serves their egos,
and turn away
from truth;
a world
in which
religious leaders,
like Caiaphas before them,
kill God
in order to hold onto their power and
protect their institutions, protect
churches that serve
themselves alone;
a world
in which
the mass of people,
like the crowds before them,
will not protest the death of the innocent,
will accept as truth lies that will get them
what they want,
will not rock the boat as long as
the economy is good;
a world
in which
believers,
like Simon Peter before them,
are not brave,
are not loyal,
are not faithful
because the cost is too high;
a world
in which
love and compassion
are ridiculed and
serving yourself
praised.
O Lord, that’s pretty much our world, a world
in which
you are tamed,
Christ is still sealed in a tomb, and
the only hope we have is whatever hope
we can muster on our own, and
people
are what
they’ve always been;
and so
it’s no wonder
that we are in the mess we are in,
that violence is the national pastime,
that fear and suspicion continue to drive people apart,
that anger is the favorite emotion of nearly everyone,
that truth is no longer true,
because
that’s what a
Good Friday world
is like.
O Lord, how we need our world to be an Easter world,
a world
in which
you are truly Lord over all,
Christ is alive and on the loose, and
the hope we have is the hope of
what you can do,
and people are
transformed.
And so
we pray
that the Risen Christ
would so live within us
that we would be
brave,
loyal,
faithful;
that the Risen Christ
would put
steel in our backbones,
good thoughts in our heads,
compassion in our hearts;
that the Risen Christ
would give us the will
to live the truth of the Gospel,
to overcome fear and prejudice,
to lessen anger and resentment,
to love and serve others,
especially in the face of evil and hatred,
to live with hope even in the midst of
all that is dead and wrecked and ruined;
and we pray
that in the
power of the resurrection
we would become
10 times
the people we are,
people
who are
Easter people
who help bring about
an Easter world of peace
and gladness.
And again we pray, O Lord, for the people of the Ukraine
who continue to suffer
devastation and destruction and death
that’s hard to take in, such crimes,
such evil.
Move the nations of the world to
support and supply the Ukrainians
even more,
that they would be victorious,
that the suffering would come to an end,
that freedom prevails and peace wins out.
And we pray for
all who are ravaged by war,
and those closer to home
who are ravaged by illness,
and those who are dying,
those who are grieving,
those struggling to make ends meet,
those who are hungry or who are without a home, and
the millions of refugees who seek
safety and sanctuary.
It’s overwhelming,
but do not let that stop us
as a nation and as individuals
to feed and house and strengthen and comfort and
lift in hope
the hurting
of this world.
O Lord, it’s about more than chocolate bunnies;
it’s about the Risen Christ and
the power to transform us and our world;
it’s about
believing,
believing
that it’s true,
believing
that our
Good Friday world of death
can become an
Easter world of life
if only we did believe,
would
believe.
Amen.