22nd day of Lent
MARCH 22nd 2017
PRAY FOR THE MEN OF VIOLENCE 2
22nd day of Lent
MARCH 22nd 2017
Today a man died. He was a man of violence. He was an extremist. He took four people with him and injured 40 more.
Extremists seek to pull people with them away from a central, everyday, normality.
Extremists don't want us to hold together.
So as we open up our church on Saturday we want to, in a very small and normal and un-extreme way, to help people hold together.
And we believe that a man of peace who suffered at the hands of violent extremists - they who believed death was the answer - is the one who calls us to hold out a light to others.
Yesterday was a day for prayer for Northern Ireland. Today is a day of prayer for London. Every day is a day of prayer. For it is the normal, holding-together, response of un-extreme Christians and Muslims. Prayer for those whose lives were so marred and devastated by terrorism. Prayer for peacemakers.
In the Psalms in the Bible there can be found what are known as Psalms of Lament. These, like all the psalms, were used by the people of Israel in their worship. The Psalms of Lament are cries to God for help, and follow a general pattern or structure.
ReplyDeleteFirst, there is an address to God. Then comes an honest complaint to God, followed by a request for God to do something about the situation. And the psalm ends with an expression of trust in God.
I have always found these psalms so helpful as they reflect both our pain, our honest questioning, and yet our faith in God our source of hope.
So today I've wanted to try writing, for the first time, a Psalm of Lament for London. Maybe other readers of the blog might try this too and share your heartfelt prayer, as together we pray for our nation.
God of the nations,
you who hold all peoples
in the hollow of your hands,
why has this outrage happened?
How many more innocent lives
are to be so violently taken,
bodies scarred,
minds traumatised,
before your Kingdom of peace comes?
When will we be free from the fear of terror?
Lord, come to rescue us from despair;
save us from responding with hate;
and keep us from turning away from
the path of tolerance and respect.
Do not let our hearts grow cold.
United in our nation's shock and grief
we put our trust in you, Sovereign God,
for you look with mercy on the sin of the world.
You hear the cries of the suffering ones
and never forsake us.
O God, in you alone,
do we find our peace and freedom.
Psalm 40
ReplyDelete1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
and put their trust in him.
4 Blessed is the one
who trusts in the Lord,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.
5 Many, Lord my God,
are the wonders you have done,
the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
they would be too many to declare.
6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—
but my ears you have opened—
burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
7 Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll.
8 I desire to do your will, my God;
your law is within my heart.”
9 I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips, Lord,
as you know.
10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.
I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness
from the great assembly.
11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord;
may your love and faithfulness always protectme.
12 For troubles without number surround me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails within me.
13 Be pleased to save me, Lord;
come quickly, Lord, to help me.
14 May all who want to take my life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.
15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
be appalled at their own shame.
16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
“The Lord is great!”
17 But as for me, I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
you are my God, do not delay.
Matt: 5:44
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"
Lord, we cry out to you
in pain and distress,
hear our cry,
listen to our prayer.
Why do people turn against us.
Why is it one among us
who has lifted his heel against us?
What is it that so enrages our friends,
that turns them into enemies?
Why do they wear hatred
as a necklace?
Comfort those who have lost their loved ones.
Show them a sign of your presence.
Be with those who have been injured
or traumatised in any way.
Lover of children,
be present among the French children.
Hold them as the apple of your eye.
Hide them under the shadow of your wings.
Lord, you created us all.
Show us how to love our enemies.
Teach us to bless, not curse.
Have mercy on
the knifeman and his family.
Show them your grace,
touch their hearts.
Those whose minds
are filled with hatred,
Fill them with love.
Soothe their troubled spirit.
Into their darkness,
bring forth your light.
Turn them away from the path of destruction
into the way of love.
Lord, nothing is too difficult for you.
Your arms are not shortened.
Your grace and might are infinite.
May our trust be in You,
Our God and saviour.
Amen