Prayer of Lament for January 6, 2021
Maker of peace, we come before you with hurt and fear, anger and uncertainty. We see families and friendships torn apart, charges of insurrection and sedition, the wounded and deceased.
Cain’s question rings out: “am I my brother’s keeper?”
We hear so many people claim their opinion is fact and lies are truth. It has become easier for us to believe what we prefer than to press for what is truly right.
Yet Jesus tells us, “Nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light.”
We grieve the cries for civil war, for the ways our society has fractured, for the way that these divisions even strike through the heart of the church.
Peter reminds us, “once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
If we stand as God’s people, then we must stand for better for our nation and for our world. If we believe in the promises of the gospel, we must not shy away from God’s challenge to make a better world – not by giving in to the temptations of sin and evil – but by rising to our calling in righteousness.
God calls to us through the prophet Isaiah, “the wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them… They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
Our path forward is in repentance, love, justice, and mercy – honoring Christ’s holy name and steadfast in faith. Amen
(Taken from Genesis 4:9, Luke 8:17, 1 Peter 2:10, and Isaiah 11:6, 9)
Image Credit: “Trinity Presbyterian Church in Bixby, Oklahoma.” Photo by Rev. Lucus Levy Keppel
