Posts Tagged ‘wisdom’

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Illumine Us

November 2, 2009

Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals — these are the very things that destroy them. Jude 10

Lord, forgive the bloggers that rant without reason, that accuse without foundation, that rail against realities they refuse to accept.  Forgive the pundits who incite hate and anger and sow confusion and fear.  Forgive those in the media that rebroadcast soundbites and ignore context and complexities.  Do not let their fear, confusion and anger distract, delay or prevent us from moving forward.  Instead,

Open our eyes that we may see, glimpses of the truth that could set us free.  Enlighten us.

Open our ears that we might hear, voices of truth that are sounding clear.  Lead us.

Open our hearts, that we might share your love and truth without fear.  Illumine us.*

Help us to look at facts, to understand cause and effect, to accept our current reality and to move forward.

Guide us.  Enlighten us.  Illumine us.   Help us to be wise, O Lord.

Amen

(*paraphrased from the hymn Open My Eyes That I Might See” by Clara Scott, 1895)

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Teach The Children Well

September 6, 2009

For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life, Pr. 6:23

It was President Kennedy who said, “Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education.”  As our children begin a new school year we pray for their learning, and for their future.   Help them to develop a knowledge and love of history, so they might avoid the mistakes of the past; a knowledge and respect for science, so they might be informed and make wise choices when faced with the complex issues of their day; a knowledge and understanding of numbers, so that they might not be misled by isolated statistics and projections; a knowledge, curiosity, and tolerance of other cultures, so that they might understand and value the breadth of creation; and a love of reading so that they might be life-long learners.  Let them be exposed to all of the arts, so that they may experience the joy of creativity.  May they develop the capacity to distinguish fiction from fact, and also the ability to integrate information, ideas, and values in ways that help them find direction, purpose, and meaning in their lives. Through their teachers let them learn care, compassion, and love for others; discipline and self-control; and the satisfaction of producing results through hard work.  Let our children find in their schools both mentors and counselors who understand their potential and who connect them with new ideas, people, and opportunities.  And let their schools find support in their  surrounding communities for adequate funding, fair standards, and the provision of real opportunities for all.  We say the children are our future.  Help us to invest in all of our children as if we believed it were so.   And help us make progress, O Lord.  Amen

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Courage to Govern

August 23, 2009

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Ps. 139: 23-24

Lord, renew our capacity to govern.  With more than one state in gridlock, factionalism promoted in the media as a national sport, and a public that is at turns fearful, angry, discouraged and uncomprehending, we need your help once again.

Your word has guided us many times before.  The 17th century preacher Jonathan Mitchel in an election sermon delivered in Boston on May 15, 1667 titled ‘Nehemiah on the Wall in Troublesome Times”, looked to the prophet Nehemiah as an example for those who govern — a leader who with fearlessness and fidelity, self-denial and compassion, prudence and piety, worked to promote and maintain the welfare of all the people.  Promoting and maintaining the welfare of the people, even in those early days of our history, was recognized to include pursuing “civil honesty”; promoting community prosperity by ensuring that all had access to the necessaries of life; and working “to quiet complaints and contentions, and to heal the dissatisfactions that arose among them”.  Good leaders, as Mitchell pointed out, do more than simply talk of the common good, they “put forth utmost and best endeavors to procure, promote and maintain it; to study it, and to speak for it; to act for it”.

Help us Lord find such leaders, and to encourage those we have.  And help us, as democratic citizens, find the courage to accept difficult realities, to confront special interests that seek to manipulate and control, and to try new paths. Give us the strength and discipline as a people to be studious, concerned and thoughtful about our common needs;  to control our fears, and to pursue compassion, patience,  and wisdom.

And help us yet again find our way through another troublesome time, and to emerge as a kinder, wiser people.

In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen

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Mistrust Is Like A Cancer

August 16, 2009

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”  Pr. 31:9

Our mistrust is like a cancer – it grows rapidly, saps our energy, and metastasizes in unpredictable ways.  There are so many voices, so much information untethered to context, and so many predictions of doom that we look at each other with suspicion and freeze.  Our hope that the common good can break through our political web slowly fades.  Doubt creeps toward despair.  Yet we are not alone. You, Lord, are always with us, and with you all things are possible. (Mt. 19:26). Let not our fear and suspicion turn us from wisdom. With confidence and compassion let us focus on your commands to rescue those in need (Ps. 82:3-4); to speak up, judge fairly, and defend the rights of the poor (Pr. 13:12); to have compassion on the sick and to care for each other (Mt. 25: 36-40; Dt: 15:11).  Help us to reconcile our differences as we pursue our pledge of “one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Encourage us, and guide us forward with your amazing grace, so that we might also say, in the words of the hymn, “through many trials, toils and snares, we have already come, ’twas grace that saw us through thus far and grace will see us home.”

Amen

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By Their Words You Shall Know Them

August 2, 2009

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

Thank you Lord for our President’s willingness to start new conversations, to focus forward, to seek dialogue on principles rather than pushing positions, and to attempt to change the patterns of partisan bickering.  Help us to elect and to listen to others who are the type of leader identified by the apostle Paul — temperate, self-controlled, hospitable, able to teach, gentle and not quarrelsome, sincere and worthy of respect (1 Timothy 3:2-3, 8).  Let us not be misled by hateful words, threats, jibes, or appeals to fear.  Instead, help us to rid ourselves of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind (1 Peter 2:1); to learn not to repay evil with evil, or insult with insult, but to live in harmony with each other (1 Peter 3:8-9).  Let us uphold your call of justice to the poor, and acknowledge the cause of the needy, and through honest and sincere dialogue, find the way forward to a more perfect union.

Amen

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Truth Will Set You Free

July 26, 2009

“You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth.” Ps. 52:3

“So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter.  Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.” Is. 59:14-15

“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor for we are all members of one body.” Eph. 4:25

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32

We review the life of Walter Cronkite with words  like “honest”,”truthful”, and “integrity”,  and we mourn for the loss of voices we can trust.  As news and entertainment media have merged, we focus more on reports of the personal and petty than on understanding and working through the larger issues of our day.  The difficulty of those issues is minimized, and understanding undermined, as efforts are made to assign “winners” and “losers” within each 24 hour news cycle.  Words that serve more to inflame than to inform are repeated over and over.   Isolated “facts” and “statistics” devoid of context are cited with breathless speculation of potential adverse consequences.  The constant stream of information confuses and overwhelms.  Efforts to address inequalities and injustice are slowed or stalled.

Strengthen us O Lord to seek your truth.  Help us to speak truthfully to one another, moving beyond a war of data and slogans to an authentic sharing of experience, values, and knowledge.  Help us to listen to one another with respect and care.   And keep us focused on the great needs before us.

Redeem us O Lord, God of Truth (Ps. 31:5), and help us to find a better path.

Amen

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Distracted and Misled

July 12, 2009

Do men make their own gods? Yes, but they are not gods! Jer. 16:20

Lord, forgive us our appetite for distraction and diversion. Forgive our fascination with celebrities and our envy of the self-indulgent.  Help us to see that the ephemeral cannot sustain or guide us.  Do not let our love of entertainment nor our attachment to sentimentality displace the careful thought and sustained work that is needed to heal our country.  Help us to seek lives of meaning and purpose, to invest our wealth in building up our communities, and to share our gifts in ways that bring us closer to you.  Guide us toward wisdom O Lord.

Amen.

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Healing Hate

June 28, 2009

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded him. 1 John 2:9-11

Lord, we look to Iran and see that people who we feared and disparaged have more in common with our own hopes and dreams than we once thought possible. As we observe their struggle, help us to examine our willingness to label others, to judge without understanding, to fear those who are different, and to separate our world into “us” and “them”.

Hate isolates us from others, helping us to ignore those in need. Hate feeds our anger and fear, enabling others to manipulate our emotions and actions.  We fail to look within and hold ourselves accountable, preferring to  shift blame “to those people”– democrat or republican, young or old, rich or poor, immigrant or foreigner, white or black — who are our current target.

Help us Lord to move past hate.  Help us to see those in need and respond with compassion and empathy.  Whether talking to neighbors or listening to political leaders or media reports, help us to challenge the simple solutions, personalized attacks, accusations, and catch-phrases, that only serve to inflame and mislead rather than inform.  Help us to reach out to one another in respect and in love.  Help us each to take on the responsibility of working to build a country, and a world, that better reflects your grace.

Help us O Lord.

Amen

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Cynicism Leads Us Astray

June 21, 2009

If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. . . . Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.   The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galations 6:3, 7-9.

Lord, throughout our country and in the media there are those who, with insolent self righteousness, do not hesitate to attack the virtues, values, and sincerity of others.  We scoff at efforts to reach out to others, dismiss empathetic expressions as weakness, and question those who would be honest about our history.  As we watch the struggles of others for freedom we seek to condemn and control, looking for domestic political advantage.  We challenge new approaches and policies as too little, not enough, or as destined to fail yet do not offer alternatives.  Mocking others has become a form of entertainment.

Our cynicism keeps us from hope, from looking for and finding the path you would have us follow.  As one pundit observed, “Cynicism is not realistic and tough. It’s unrealistic and kind of cowardly because it means you don’t have to try.” (Peggy Noonan).  Lord give us the courage to try.  Help us to recognize you in acts of  kindness, forgiveness, patience and love. Like King David, help us to admit our weakness before both you and others, and seek your help.  Strengthen us to do the work you have put before us and teach us to care for each other.  Help us to be “joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Ro. 12:12

In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen

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Fear Cannot Be Our Guide

June 14, 2009

Do not call conspiracy everything these people call conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. Is. 8:12

Lord, in our fast and noisy world it can be hard to discern which way to go. Many of the loudest voices feed our fears.  We fear enemies both real and imagined. We fear change. We fear a future we can neither predict nor control.  To calm our fears we demand immediate and simplistic fixes, forgoing the effort to understand the complex realities before us.  We turn away from wisdom.  Full of fear, we close our doors and fail to reach out to help others in our communities.  We turn away from love.  Fearing what we cannot understand, we focus on the close reality of our possessions. We fail to hear your call; we fail to seek your presence.

Yet you O Lord are with us always, ready to strengthen us and help us. (Is. 41:10) Help us to move away from our fears and hear your voice.  Let us learn to say with the psalmist, “I sought the Lord and he answered me;  he delivered me from all my fears.” Ps. 34:4  Help us to try new directions, to face our fears and speak against the voices that would mislead us. Help us to trust in you, and guide us O Lord.

Amen

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