Monday, June 1, 2020
Nathan Bourne
Hope
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
– Book of Common Prayer p. 815
This is one of those prayers that I keep coming back to. It speaks into a fractured and broken world, one torn apart by racial animus and society pulling apart at the seams. It’s a prayer for our present moment – but also for every time we’re aware that the world is not as it ought to be. Last week the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis brought me out of my small, quarantined world and reminded me of the rips in the larger fabric of our country, our communities, and the whole human family. There are deep and unhealed wounds in this country – wounds that penetrate to the first time someone stepped foot on these shores in chains. This prayer offers words of hope that, in time, those wounds will be healed and God’s people will be reconciled to one another. It doesn’t promise that the healing will be easy. In fact, it lifts up the struggle involved. It’s a reminder that we can’t do it on our own. No single well-meaning social justice organization, protest, issue, cause, or advocacy campaign will set the world right. It will require each of us to do our part in the work of healing – not by our own strength, but with the help of God who is drawing the whole human family towards Godself in love.
As we continue to mourn lives lost to violence and hatred in this nation and around the world, I encourage you to listen to the sermon that Bishop Rob preached yesterday for the Church of Our Savior in Milford. I also encourage you to read these words written by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry in the Washington Post commending us to love as the path forward.