Thursday, March 29, 2007
Prayer For Victims
Let us pray this day, this moment for all those victims of injustice and rage,
those chosen as easy targets by weakness, poorness, age
Injured through life by those who chose selfishness and lust and greed,
Indifference, revenge, selfrighteousness and all the other seed
We use to harm each other.
Lord hear our prayer.
We pray, O Lord,
For all those babies conceived, never to see the day,
for all those killed through violence because they were in the way
for all those touched by terrorism, exploding in the night
for all those harmed by their loved ones, their pain in open sight
for all those marred by war, and the chains of hate it breeds,
for all those who die marked by our indiference as we ignore their needs,
Lord hear our prayer.
Forgive us, O Lord,
For all those times when we did the deed,
Turning our backs on someone we knew was in need,
For all those times when we were hurried, late, or busy
And pretended as we walked on that we just didn't see
For all the times we let injustice pass us by without a sound,
Knowing some other spokesperson was sure to be found,
For all those times we didn't think to share,
Deceiving ourselves, perhaps, because we didn't really care.
Forgive us for all those times we said the word we knew would hurt,
Wanting to see our enemy wallowing in the dirt.
For all those times we didn't write the letter, pay a visit, make the call,
for all those times we had to be right even if it meant hurting one and all.
Forgive us, Lord, for those we've touched by our own wrongdoing,
when we could have been the tool of your choosing.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Lord, teach us this day to see the need, to feel our brother's pain,
To see with eyes touched by not by dark, but with your light again,
To know that in our brother's ills, you touch our hearts with light
By letting us care for you by caring for his plight.
Forgive us, Lord our hardness, and take our hearts of stone,
And give us hearts that know your love and that you keep as your own.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
those chosen as easy targets by weakness, poorness, age
Injured through life by those who chose selfishness and lust and greed,
Indifference, revenge, selfrighteousness and all the other seed
We use to harm each other.
Lord hear our prayer.
We pray, O Lord,
For all those babies conceived, never to see the day,
for all those killed through violence because they were in the way
for all those touched by terrorism, exploding in the night
for all those harmed by their loved ones, their pain in open sight
for all those marred by war, and the chains of hate it breeds,
for all those who die marked by our indiference as we ignore their needs,
Lord hear our prayer.
Forgive us, O Lord,
For all those times when we did the deed,
Turning our backs on someone we knew was in need,
For all those times when we were hurried, late, or busy
And pretended as we walked on that we just didn't see
For all the times we let injustice pass us by without a sound,
Knowing some other spokesperson was sure to be found,
For all those times we didn't think to share,
Deceiving ourselves, perhaps, because we didn't really care.
Forgive us for all those times we said the word we knew would hurt,
Wanting to see our enemy wallowing in the dirt.
For all those times we didn't write the letter, pay a visit, make the call,
for all those times we had to be right even if it meant hurting one and all.
Forgive us, Lord, for those we've touched by our own wrongdoing,
when we could have been the tool of your choosing.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Lord, teach us this day to see the need, to feel our brother's pain,
To see with eyes touched by not by dark, but with your light again,
To know that in our brother's ills, you touch our hearts with light
By letting us care for you by caring for his plight.
Forgive us, Lord our hardness, and take our hearts of stone,
And give us hearts that know your love and that you keep as your own.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Love of Neighbor, Penitence
Friday, March 09, 2007
Responds
In a world that swirls with anger, Lord,
teach me to love.
In a world that sees attack as a right and a joy,
teach me to cherish breaking the chains of hate.
In a world that seeks conformity in the name of tolerance,
teach me the patience to stand firm in peace.
In a world that seeks to strike out and hurt what it doesn't agree with,
teach me to follow in your footsteps,
in your way,
following your light,
touched by your love,
this day, and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone
teach me to love.
In a world that sees attack as a right and a joy,
teach me to cherish breaking the chains of hate.
In a world that seeks conformity in the name of tolerance,
teach me the patience to stand firm in peace.
In a world that seeks to strike out and hurt what it doesn't agree with,
teach me to follow in your footsteps,
in your way,
following your light,
touched by your love,
this day, and always.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone
Labels: Discipleship, Love of Neighbor, Loving God
Sunday, January 21, 2007
The Ways of Your Mercy
Teach me o Lord, the ways of your mercy,
How to reach out in truth,
Not in the false sentimentality of popular notions,
that shifting sense of fairness
that changes with fashion and taste,
but in the true ways your word reveals,
caring for the ugly and the outcast,
the unpopular, the needy,
in the ways that you show us to do.
Teach me O Lord, the ways of your mercy,
How to reach out in truth,
Not with the false rationality that blooms ever anew
to find reasons not to help, to say no
in spite of the truth of what your word reveals,
help me not to turn my back on the ones you send me,
help me not to grow hard hearted with the call now to love,
but to walk in the ways that you call us to do.
Teach me, O Lord, the ways of your mercy,
To see your eyes shining in the face of the lost,
To hear your voice calling in the cry of the hungry,
To reach out and cover your shoulders as I clothe the naked,
To feel your touch in the hands of the unloved.
Through your help, O Lord, let me reach out to God's children
As if I were reaching out in love to you.
This day, and always, Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
How to reach out in truth,
Not in the false sentimentality of popular notions,
that shifting sense of fairness
that changes with fashion and taste,
but in the true ways your word reveals,
caring for the ugly and the outcast,
the unpopular, the needy,
in the ways that you show us to do.
Teach me O Lord, the ways of your mercy,
How to reach out in truth,
Not with the false rationality that blooms ever anew
to find reasons not to help, to say no
in spite of the truth of what your word reveals,
help me not to turn my back on the ones you send me,
help me not to grow hard hearted with the call now to love,
but to walk in the ways that you call us to do.
Teach me, O Lord, the ways of your mercy,
To see your eyes shining in the face of the lost,
To hear your voice calling in the cry of the hungry,
To reach out and cover your shoulders as I clothe the naked,
To feel your touch in the hands of the unloved.
Through your help, O Lord, let me reach out to God's children
As if I were reaching out in love to you.
This day, and always, Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Love of Neighbor, Mercy on Mankind
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Lord, You Ask the Hardest Things Sometimes
Meditation on Luke 6: 27-36
Lord, you ask the hardest things sometimes,
to love those who hate us,
to act kindly towards those who wish to harm us,
to bless those who wish us dead.
O Lord, give me the strength
to break the chains of hate
that tie us to sin's blackness,
weighing us down with anger,
and pain,
retaliation,
shame,
breeding darkness from darkness,
grief from grief..
When I see the depths of anger and hate that surrounds us,
I recoil in fear and disgust and disbelief,
for such a thing comes not from above,
no matter how much they do it in the name of God,
or Peace,
or Right,
or Self-determination.
Such things come only from the pit.
Teach me how to be an instrument of your peace
In an era fraught with danger, hate and night.
Touch my hands that they may act in peace
your way, for your reasons.
Touch my lips, that they may say words of blessing
the way you would have it be,
even to those who would harm me.
Touch my heart
That I may learn how to act lovingly
Even when my mind screams out for blood,
Help me to do this because you asked it,
Help me to do this through your help,
Help me to do this for your glory,
This day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Lord, you ask the hardest things sometimes,
to love those who hate us,
to act kindly towards those who wish to harm us,
to bless those who wish us dead.
O Lord, give me the strength
to break the chains of hate
that tie us to sin's blackness,
weighing us down with anger,
and pain,
retaliation,
shame,
breeding darkness from darkness,
grief from grief..
When I see the depths of anger and hate that surrounds us,
I recoil in fear and disgust and disbelief,
for such a thing comes not from above,
no matter how much they do it in the name of God,
or Peace,
or Right,
or Self-determination.
Such things come only from the pit.
Teach me how to be an instrument of your peace
In an era fraught with danger, hate and night.
Touch my hands that they may act in peace
your way, for your reasons.
Touch my lips, that they may say words of blessing
the way you would have it be,
even to those who would harm me.
Touch my heart
That I may learn how to act lovingly
Even when my mind screams out for blood,
Help me to do this because you asked it,
Help me to do this through your help,
Help me to do this for your glory,
This day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Love of Neighbor, scripture
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Your Children
Weeping and wailing over the world
Cries of loss that pierce the night,
Despair and grief piling high upon anger
Oil of death waiting to ignite --
Let us see it as You, O we Your children, Lord --
Rip the veils from our sight.
In a world that shows so clearly
The heart of darkness that painfully beats
There right beneath the surface,
In our homes and in our streets
Show us how to walk as Your children, Lord,
Bearers of Your light.
Only Your light can shatter the midnight,
Only Your touch can soften the hate,
Without Your voice to soothe the anger,
There is no escape from the evil fate
That awaits your erring children, Lord.
Keep us in your sight!
In this hard world that sin has wrought
A hard world growing ever darker,
May we who call You Master see
That what You taught us is the marker
And help us be Your children, Lord
Your hands in the night.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Cries of loss that pierce the night,
Despair and grief piling high upon anger
Oil of death waiting to ignite --
Let us see it as You, O we Your children, Lord --
Rip the veils from our sight.
In a world that shows so clearly
The heart of darkness that painfully beats
There right beneath the surface,
In our homes and in our streets
Show us how to walk as Your children, Lord,
Bearers of Your light.
Only Your light can shatter the midnight,
Only Your touch can soften the hate,
Without Your voice to soothe the anger,
There is no escape from the evil fate
That awaits your erring children, Lord.
Keep us in your sight!
In this hard world that sin has wrought
A hard world growing ever darker,
May we who call You Master see
That what You taught us is the marker
And help us be Your children, Lord
Your hands in the night.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship, Love of Neighbor, man's inhumanity, Mercy on Mankind
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Walking Blindly
O Lord,
I hear your voice whispering,
calling in the wind
as the snowflakes pile up,
"You are warm in your house -
have you thought about those who are cold?"
and I am aghast,
for I had not.
O Lord,
I hear your voice whispering,
calling as I cook in my kitchen
preparing an abundant meal for my family.
"You have food to eat in plenty,
have you thought about the hungry?"
and I bow my head in shame,
for I had not.
O Lord,
how often I walk blindly,
forgetting your call for mercy.
Soften my heart, O Lord,
give me a mind that remembers
the needs of others,
eyes that see
the need for mercy,
hands that respond
without being prodded.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
I hear your voice whispering,
calling in the wind
as the snowflakes pile up,
"You are warm in your house -
have you thought about those who are cold?"
and I am aghast,
for I had not.
O Lord,
I hear your voice whispering,
calling as I cook in my kitchen
preparing an abundant meal for my family.
"You have food to eat in plenty,
have you thought about the hungry?"
and I bow my head in shame,
for I had not.
O Lord,
how often I walk blindly,
forgetting your call for mercy.
Soften my heart, O Lord,
give me a mind that remembers
the needs of others,
eyes that see
the need for mercy,
hands that respond
without being prodded.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2006
Labels: Being Merciful, Love of Neighbor
Monday, October 11, 2004
Lanterns
O Lord,
infinite Ocean of Mercy,
our source,
our hope,
our truth,
help us this day to be your hands here
on this world
where the unmerciful nature
of the dark confronts us daily.
Help us this day to be lanterns of your light
and show those around us
that the dark
is not the truth
no matter how common
or prevalent.
Help us this day
to be beacons of your hope,
and by our love for you,
by our actions,
by our words
by the choices we make
may we show others the way
home to you.
Susan E. Stone, 2004
Amen.
Labels: Discipleship, Love of Neighbor, Loving God
