A Concord Pastor Comments: NIGHT PRAYER: Thursday 8/6

Today, Lord, the Church remembers your Transfiguration
when, on a mountain top, you revealed your glory
and your face shone like the sun
and your clothes became white as light...

And today, Lord, the world remembers another light,
a blinding light, searing human flesh in Hiroshima
and instantly claiming 80,000 men, women and children
and, in the aftermath, tens of thousands more
of injuries, radiation burns and sickness...

Humankind's inhumanity to humankind:
   Lord, have mercy!
   Christ, have mercy!
   Lord, have mercy!

How easily we forget your command, Lord:
Love one another as I have loved you!

How easily we excuse ourselves when we fail to love on the basis of
   race, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion,
   sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, marital status,
   age, height, weight, physical or mental ability, military status...

How easily, Lord, we drop verbal and emotional bombs
   in our neighbors' lives;
how easily we sear each other's souls with rumor, gossip and lies;
how easily we shoot down a neighbor's reputation and good name;
how easily we inflict social mortal wounds
   with our bigotry and bias, our resentment and prejudice...

How easily, Lord, we do in our families and neighborhoods,
   in the class room and work place, with our words and our deeds
what nations do on the front lines and on battle fields,
   in war rooms and command posts with strategy and arms...

How easily we forget, Lord, that indeed we are
our sister's keeper, our brother's keeper,
our neighbor's keeper - wherever our neighbor might live...

Hasten the day, Lord, when we heed your word
and love our neighbor, each and every one,
as we love ourselves and our native land...

You alone are God and we your children
brothers and sisters, one and all
and for each of us, with equal love,
your Son laid down his life
for our failure to love one another,
for the forgiveness of our truly mortal sins...

Your peace you left us, Lord,
help us keep the peace you gave us
and hasten the day when the peace that only you can give
is the peace of the world we all call home...

Protect us, Lord, while we're awake
and watch over us as we sleep
that awake, we might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...

Amen.

(This was an unusually heavy Night Prayer... I hope and pray
this song will bring us peace and its lyrics offer hope...)

This Is My Song