A Concord Pastor Comments: NIGHT PRAYER: Wednesday 4/29

As another day ends, Lord,
I find myself thinking in terms of "how long?"

How long has this been going on?
How long has it been since I last (fill in the blank)?
How long before a vaccine is discovered?
How long before the economy rebounds?
How long before I can once again (fill in the blank)?
How long before I can go back to church?
How long until this is over, Lord?

Those are my questions, Lord, but even as I ask them
I realize that others have questions they've been asking for years,
questions they've been asking all their lives:

How long will I be poor, Lord?
How long will my children be hungry? homeless? helpless?
How long can I, will I endure my chronic illness?
How long before I'm not judged by my color?
How long before my homeland is free again?
How long before I can freely practice my faith?
How long until my spirits lift, Lord?

I hope and I trust, Lord,
that my questions will be answered soon,
perhaps not fully resolved until next year or the year after,
but I trust there's an end to the present crisis...

But for others, Lord, there's no end in sight:
the light at the end of the tunnel is so far away
it's not visible to the naked eye, nor the naked heart...

Help me keep my troubles in perspective, Lord,
and keep me mindful, prayerful and generously supportive
of those who've asked, "How long, Lord?" all their lives
and whose children will ask the same for years to come...

Let whatever discomfort and suffering are mine now, Lord,
give me a glimpse of, a small share in carrying the burdens
that others bear for a lifetime...

Make me especially aware of and sensitive to those
whose already heavy load is only made heavier
by this virus and its threat...

Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake
(especially those who are homeless and hungry)
and watch over us as we sleep
(especially those who will not wake tomorrow morning)
that awake we may keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen.

Tonight's song is the beautifully haunting
Elegy for the Victims of the (2011) Earthquake and Sunami in Japan
by Nobuyuki Tsuji, an internationally acclaimed pianist and composer,
blind from birth, who has never seen a page of sheet music.