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| Path to Foul Weather Bluff; Kingston, WA |
Gentle God, song of our heart, where are you in our suffering
world? You shaped us with your hands,
and while the dirt was still under your fingernails, we turned from you and hid
ourselves. And now it seems, in the
darkest places where the helpless suffer, you are hiding from us.
In the noise of our world, we have listened to the other
voices. We have heard the voices calling
us to easier paths. When you called us
to choose comfort or follow you, we have decided that we are better alone.
Lamb of God, have mercy on us.
We have shouted our needs and
drowned out your voice. We have not
waited for your answer. We have run our
own way until we stumbled, and only then, our clothes tattered and our hearts
drained of hope, did we come back to you.
Lamb of God, have mercy on us.
The noise of the world has
become too much for us, O God. Injustice
roars and the helpless scream. In the
tumult we scorn your gentle voice. We
have decided you are not worthy of our trust.
Lamb of God, have mercy on
us.
Even as we travel this road, we begin to
stumble under the weight of baggage: suitcases packed with bitterness and
anger, bags overflowing with surprising prejudice and hatred, shoes full of
stones of disappointment that rub our feet raw and slow our steps. We travel heavy, O God. Forgive us and take our burdens so that, like
children, we may skip light and full of joy.
Lamb of God, give us your
peace.
--klc; photo: Meredith Cockroft
--klc; photo: Meredith Cockroft
This is really good, Kim.
ReplyDeleteI'm usually a Book of Common Prayer kind of guy; the words are rich, but not so specific that everyone can't find themselves in them. A lot of the newly crafted prayers of confession I read are so specific they leave you unable to take part ("Why no, I *didn't* rape the environment this week"...), or descend into psychobabble (is "not reaching your full potential" something you need to confess to God or to Oprah?)
But this uses rich, specific language in a way that taps into our common experiences as humans and followers of Christ. Well done!
Greg, I am a Book of Common Prayers gal. I never felt so free as when I first attended an Episcopal Church and found the longings of my heart finally articulated in rich language that linked me to a greater community around the world. I've never been good at speaking off the cuff and the Evangelical Churches in which I was raised valued that sort of speaking highly. What a relief finally to find the words I'd needed for so long before me. What a joy to speak them out loud with others.
ReplyDeleteThe church where we're currently working is in many ways the "Not Your Parent's Church," so I've been coming up with new liturgy that fits a more contemporary, 'unchurched' people while, I hope, still retaining what I love most about the Book of Common Prayer. It's so much fun. As in poetry, I try to keep images solid and find freedom in the metaphor. If you know any worship leaders/planners who could use the prayers, they are so welcome.