NIGHT PRAYER: Wednesday 10/12


One of my biggest sins, Lord, 
(perhaps the biggest)
is my complacency, the ease and equanimity 
with which I abide and, in subtle ways, tolerate and accept
the desperation in which so many others live…  
Russian rockets target civilians in Ukraine:
    news I heard without missing a step,
    making my way along safe paths
    where war’s a sound bite, not a threat…
On Monday afternoon, a holiday, 
a 14 year old boy was shot and killed in Roxbury:
    only 19 miles from my doorstep,
    a distance isolating me and protecting me from a world
    where violence and danger roam the streets
    – while I sleep safe and sound in Wayland,
    just 19 miles away…
In a world producing more than enough food
to feed every person on the planet:
    some 830 million people will go to bed hungry tonight 
    while I, after dinner from a menu of my choosing,
    will later snack on pretzels and salsa,
    mindless of the starving
    and feeling only – full
    full of more food than I need…
The cost of home heating oil rises
(for those who have a home)
and soon the cold will snap and bite and freeze
those least prepared for winter:
    while, in a house already warm,
    where the fuel bill’s always paid,
    I’ve sorted out my sweaters, heavy coats,
    wool hats, scarves and gloves
    on my bed, made with flannel sheets
    ‘neath blankets, throws and quilts…
Lord, rouse me from complacency,
from complicit self-entitlement,
from unexamined tolerance 
    of others’ plight and pain…
Stir up in my awareness 
a deep appreciation 
for the bounty that is mine:
    pure gift, all undeserved,
    entrusted to my care 
    to share with those in need…
May the comfort I enjoy 
    not diminish my compassion
nor shield my eyes from seeing
    the depths of others anguish…
May the blessings and the gifts
    that are mine in such abundance
be the source of my desire
    to supply what others need…
May my gratitude to you, Lord,
    for all that I’ve received
lead my heart to serve my neighbor’s needs
    before I serve my own…
Protect me, Lord, while I’m awake
and watch over me while I sleep
that awake, I might keep watch with you
and asleep rest in your peace…

Here’s Michael’s song again, not really a hymn
    but fitting, I believe, for our prayer tonight…

There’s a place in your heartAnd I know that it is loveAnd this place it was brighter than tomorrowAnd if you really tryYou’ll find there’s no need to cryIn this place you’ll feel there’s no hurt or sorrow
There are ways to get thereIf you care enough for the livingMake a little spaceMake a better place
Heal the worldMake it a better placeFor you and for me, and the entire human raceThere are people dyingIf you care enough for the livingMake a better place for you and for me
If you want to know whyThere’s a love that cannot lieLove is strongIt only cares for joyful givingIf we try we shall seeIn this bliss we cannot feelFear of dread, we stop existing and start living
Then it feels that alwaysLove’s enough for us growingMake a better worldSo make a better world
Heal the world, make it a better placeFor you and for me, and the entire human raceThere are people dyingIf you care enough for the livingMake a better place for you and for me
And the dream we were conceived in will reveal a joyful faceAnd the world we once believed in will shine again in graceThen why do we keep strangling lifeWound this earth, crucify its soul?Though it’s plain to see, this world is heavenlyBe God’s glow
We could fly so highLet our spirits never dieIn my heart I feel you are all my brothersCreate a world with no fearTogether we’ll cry happy tearsSee the nations turn their swords into plowshares
We could really get thereIf you cared enough for the livingMake a little spaceTo make a better place
Heal the world, make it a better placeFor you and for me, and the entire human raceThere are people dyingIf you care enough for the livingMake a better place for you and for me
You and for me (for a better place)You and for me (make a better place)You and for me (make a better place)You and for me (heal the world we live in)You and for me (save it for our children)


  

SUBSCRIBE HERE!