a blessing when thoughts and prayers are not enough
God, i am appalled
at the violence and suffering
that keeps happening.
God, how do i wrap my mind around this?
what can be done?
be angry and do not sin
Eph. 4:26 Literal Standard Version
God have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Spirit have mercy.
The kind of fasting I want is this:
Remove the chains of oppression
and the yoke of injustice,
and let the oppressed go free.
Isaiah 58:6 Good News Translation
God have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Spirit have mercy.
blessed are we who ask You God
to free us from the temptation
to look away in fear or horror,
or revert instead to a
‘thoughts and prayers’ theology
that offers the low-hanging fruit
of easy condolences
but is nowhere near enough.
blessed are we who say, God,
i want to stay just a little bit angry,
mad enough to keep looking steadily,
and hold before my eyes
the sharp images, the memories,
the ugly reality of what has happened.
God, save me from inaction
that will only make me complicit--
a party to the betrayal of others
and of You.
blessed are we who say, God,
help me form a strategy
that targets my gifts precisely
and doesn’t overreach my resources.
help me bring real comfort
to others who are vulnerable.
and grant me grace
to do this as steady work
that dismantles the systems
and mitigates the harm
even as we go.
God, where do i start?
God have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Spirit have mercy.
there is love in this.
God is alive; magic is afoot.
you will be carried.
And I said,
“Here am I. Send me!”
Isaiah 6:8
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We want to tell the truth about the suffering of our world. But here are three things about the intensely URGENT AND APOCALYPTIC culture of Twitter actually prevents me from grappling with the truth about suffering sometimes. (thread)
1. Most people need to manage the amount of suffering they absorb in a day. Twitter seems to demand that you withstand life's terror every day, at all times, or else you are somehow complicit. I wish there were more grace for the way that we need moments of exposure and shelter.
In the cancer clinic, the nurses always turned off the news. I always appreciated that as a permission slip. One day's suffering is enough.
o God these are darkening days,
with no hope in sight.
o God help us in our fear and desperation.
anchor us in hope!
God have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Spirit have mercy.
“let not your heart be troubled;
you believe in God, believe also in Me.”
John 14:1
God have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Spirit have mercy.
blessed are we with eyes open to see
the suffering from pandemic danger,
sickness and loneliness,
the injustice of racial oppression,
the unimpeded greed and misuse of power,