God
of Advent, in a world of chaos, you can be very hard to find.
The
good news of your presence can seem at best a mystery.
So
teach us to wait for your unveiling, and give us faith to trust in your
revelation.
When
our world is in winter, comfort us with faith that the long dark nights, and
cold hard days, do not last for eternity.
Help
us to learn the lesson of the skeletal tree against the winter sky, and the
dormant bulb in the frosted ground. Help us to trust that new life is already
nascent within our world of winter, and that days of darkness contain within
themselves the assurance of your coming to all who seek you.
So today we bring
before you the needs of our winter world,
and we offer our faith in the
in-breaking of your new season of justice and joy.
We
pray for our planet, and we rejoice that progress has been made on tackling
climate change, but we recognise that there is so much still to do; and that
countries will need the courage to act against self-interest if genuine change
is to be achieved. Give us the courage to speak out, and to call your world to
the self-less path which brings life.
We
pray for all those who are victims of natural disasters. May we learn to live
in ways that are in harmony with the natural world.
In a world of winter,
we offer our faith
in the in-breaking of your new
season of justice and joy.
In
a world of war and terror, we pray for peace on earth. When nations and
ideologies take up arms to fight for right, we find wrong on all sides.
War
has created the current crisis in Europe faced by those who have nowhere else
to live, and refugees now seek new life far from home. But people-movement
leads to fear and suspicion, and violence and bullying stalk the streets and
whisper in the corridors of power.
Lord,
forgive us. Help us to find a new way, where the spirals of violence find their
end in you, as you call us to a new way of being human where forgiveness trumps
retaliation, and violence stops with us.
In a world of winter,
we offer our faith
in the in-breaking of your new
season of justice and joy.
We
pray for all those who suffer because of their faithful witness to your kingdom
of peace, and we think especially of those Christians who face harassment,
discrimination, slander, false accusation, detention, and imprisonment, because
they will not turn from your path. We pray that they will remain strong in
faith and trust, despite physical and psychological abuse, and that they will
know your presence with them as they walk the costly path of the cross. We
thank you for organisations like Release International, Action by Christians
Against Torture, and Amnesty International, as they face the darkness with
unflinching gaze.
In a world of winter,
we offer our faith
in the in-breaking of your new
season of justice and joy.
We
pray for those who find this time of year especially difficult. We think of
those who find the loss of loved ones hard to bear, when so many are focussing
on family. We pray for those for whom the coming Christmas festivities speaks
of unfulfilled dreams. And we ask that you will reveal yourself to those who
mourn, and to those who are sad. Be their comfort and joy, and may those of us
who are happy be attentive to those who are not.
In a world of winter,
we offer our
faith in the in-breaking of your new
season of justice and joy.
Loving
God of Advent, we await your coming, and we anticipate your revelation, and we
long for your unveiling.
Come,
Lord Jesus, come. Amen.
x
No comments:
Post a Comment