A Concord Pastor Comments: Monday Morning Offering: MLK Day 2018

A song for this holiday
and for today's Pause for Prayer...

By the glory of your Cross, Lord,
   help our nation overcome
   the bias that divides us,
   the mistrust bred by bigotry,
   and the pain that comes of prejudice
- and let us never for a moment
   pretend to love you and at the same time
   ignore, mistreat or abandon our neighbor,
   brothers and sisters all, near and far,
   one family of humanity
   in you, our Lord and God...

From the depths of your love, Lord,
   help me overcome my prejudice,
   my bias and my bigotry,
   my narrow-minded thinking
   and rash judgments
- and help me overcome the temptation to think
   that none of these faults are mine...

With the grace of your mercy, Lord,
   help me overcome my selfishness,
   my jealousy and greed,
   my pride and self-importance,
   my careless disregard of others' needs
- and help me overcome the thought
   that I'm above all such things...

With the power of your Spirit, Lord,
   help me overcome my laziness,
   my lustful thoughts and longings,
   my apathy and envy
   and my ungoverned appetites
- and help me overcome the self-evaluation
   in which none of this applies to me...

With the justice of your word, Lord,
   help me overcome my tendencies
   to stretch the truth, to cheat and lie,
   to take what isn't mine,
   to deny what's due to others
- and help me overcome the notion
   that I'm above such inclinations...

With the power of your grace, Lord,
   help me overcome my fears,
   my worries and anxieties,
   my doubts and my uncertainties,
   my lack of trust in you and others
- and help me overcome the thought
   that weakness is my lot...

With the strength of your arm, Lord,
   help me overcome what keeps me down,
   what holds me back,
   what slows me up,
   what locks me in...
- and help me overcome the inertia
   that holds me captive in its grip...

With all you have to offer, Lord,
   help me overcome what keeps me
   from your presence and from prayer,
   from your mercy and compassion,
   from your love, your peace and joy...

Amen.