Every Sunday, in our Prayers of the People, we pray for the victims of violence everywhere, and for the perpetrators of violence, so that they may cease their evil ways and return to Christ. We’ve been praying for the Middle East for some time now, and we will continue to pray for the people there, especially since Iran was attacked (and retaliated) at the end of February. I’ve been asked to pray for the people of Ukraine, Sudan, Venezuela, Haiti, and many more. Honestly, we could pray for every country or region of the world by name. Choosing to pray for the Middle East isn’t to minimize the needs of others—it is our spiritual birthplace, and the current felt need is urgent.
There are some who view prayer as a last resort, something to do when all else has failed. But prayer should be our first resort. We make our intercessions to God and ask for peace, understanding, and courage. But in so doing, we also make time to listen to God. We are inundated with bad news from all over the world, and as Martin Luther King Jr. said, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We don’t need to look far to find injustice, and if we choose, we can make a difference in our world and not simply be sponges for despair. Remember that God is with us. Instead of sitting in defeat, we make our plea to God, with the help of the Holy Spirit, who intercedes on our behalf with “groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26)
There are multiple ways to reveal the kingdom of God, ways that each of us is uniquely equipped to do. If we ask God to help us reveal the kingdom, God will respond. We can balance the stories of grief we read with stories of joy, or quiet moments of peace. We are not meant to carry the grief of the world. We are meant to love our neighbor – our literal next-door neighbors – something that is not easy to do in our isolated day and age. But it’s a place we can start – a place where our prayers can grow legs, a place where we can make a real difference in our world.
The Rev. Jason Shelby
Rector
jason.shelby@stfrancispalosverdes.org