Today, a prayer meant to follow the reading of 2 Samuel 7:
The threats do not wane
Walter Brueggemann
The threats do not wane,
The dangers are not imagined,
The power to undo is on the loose . . .
And in the midst, you speak your word.
It is your word that cuts the threat,
that siphons off the danger,
that tames the powers.
You speak and all is made new.
You speak your true self of abiding faithfulness,
of durable presence,
of long-standing reliability.
You give yourself in the utterance of “fear not,”
and we do not fear.
We do not fear,
because you are with us,
with us, and so safe,
with us, and so free,
with us, and so joyous.
We diminish our lives in our feeble anxiety . . .
and you veto our anxiety;
We cheapen our neighbor with our frantic greed . . .
and you nullify our greed with your satiation;
We pollute our world in our lust for safety . . .
and you detoxify our mess.
Now come here and in Kosovo,
here and in Littleton,
here and in East Lake,
here and in Louisville,
here . . . and there . . . and there . . . and there,
Override the fickleness of it all,
And give us faith commensurate with your true, abiding self.
Amen
Grace and peace,
Ron
