Even as our world continues to wrestle with the ramifications of COVID-19 and the economic crisis, we are bombarded with acts of escalating racism. As people of faith we must ACT NOW to end racism— action that is accompanied by prayer for guidance, healing, and protection. These posts are offered to unite our actions and our prayers for the sake of God’s justice.
The Value of Wisdom (Proverbs 2:1-11, NRSV)
The Scripture reading is drawn from Sunday’s lesson for June 14, 2020 ©Uniform Lessons Series.
2 My child, if you accept my words
and treasure up my commandments within you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 if you indeed cry out for insight,
and raise your voice for understanding;
4 if you seek it like silver,
and search for it as for hidden treasures—
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk blamelessly,
8 guarding the paths of justice
and preserving the way of his faithful ones.
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
10 for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 prudence will watch over you;
and understanding will guard you.
Prayer of Accountability
Prayer by Jane Siebert, General Convention of the Swedenborgian Church of North America, is taken from United Against Racism, ©New York: Friendship Press, 2018, p. 128-129.
To You who listens to our hearts, knows us, loves us equally, and created us to live in harmony, we say “thank you.”
We need Your help this day and forever more.
We need Your help to envision a world of racial equity, where all have what they need for health, education, justice, and family support, for we must first be able to imagine it to make it so. Help us all to want this and work for this with all our heart and all our soul and all our might.
May it be so.
We need Your help to open our individual eyes to the part we each play in our blindness to what is and what isn’t. Help us to identify our own wrongs so we can work to make them right.
May it be so.
We need Your help to learn over and over how to love as You taught us to love, with open hearts, open minds, and open arms. Help us see You in every person, hear You in every plea, feel You in every possibility.
May it be so.
May this be our individual prayer as well as our collective prayer, for it take all of us, every minute of every day, never looking away, always looking within.
Amen.