A litany for children ...

Today, a prayer:

A Litany for Children

One - O Holy One, we come before you with our prayers and petitions. As your children we seek your providence, protection, and power. Lord, in your mercy,

Many - Hear our prayer.

One - “For unto us, a child is born,” a child, your son, our savior. For the coming of Jesus, his staying, and his leaving, we give you thanks. For his coming to bring peace, we give thanks. For his dwelling among us as a living image of you, we give thanks. For his leaving to prepare a table to share with us forever, we give thanks. Lord, in your mercy,

Many - Hear our prayer.

One - O Almighty One, we know that not all children have been so longed for, so welcomed, so blessed. We bring before you those Jepthahs, those children who know not their fathers, or whose fathers will not accept them. Use us to bring them to you, Lord, so they may receive your acknowledgment as their true father. Bless them, protect them, Lord, in your mercy

Many - Hear our prayer.

One - O Steadfast One, too many Tamars, too many children know love and abuse, confused because the two are falsely linked by those who live with them. May the truth, however difficult, be known and acted upon by those who need to know it. May the truth of your steadfast love, pure and self-emptying, be known by these precious little ones. Lord, in your mercy,

Many - Hear our prayer.

One - O Loving One, we bring before you those Ishmaels, the children taken beyond the bounds of safety, past the point of reasonable patience, all because of familial battles. Too often the foolishness in the lives of their parents protects the unfaithful or the untruthful and deprives the innocent and powerless. O Faithful One, keep these children in the promise of your love and providence. Lord, in your mercy,

Many - Hear our prayer.

One - O Sending One, you see those widows of Zarephath and their children. You alone know how many children have only a mother, a mother with precious little in resources, but a heart full of love and faith. Send your servants, O Lord, to walk beside them so that, just at the right time, your providence arrives. Lord, in your mercy,

Many - Hear our prayer.


One - O Divine One, may our children be loved as Samuel was loved: longed for; prayed for; cared for; yet inevitably, sent forth, all to do your bidding and to glorify your Holy name. Lord, in your mercy,

Many - Hear our prayer.

One - O Holy One, like a mother you have drawn us to your breast, like a father you have guarded us through the night. Lord, as we have asked you as the Divine Parent to love and provide for all these, your children,

Many - So help us to love and provide for those children you have sent to us.

One - In the name of your precious child, Jesus, we petition you,

Many - Amen.

Blessings,

Ron

She who is in labor ...

Together, let us meditate on the word of the Lord:

Micah 5:2-5a

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
who are one of the little clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.

Can anything good happen in a small town? Can anything worthy of note come from Bethlehem, this “house of bread,” this tiny village? How often does God work with the small things - with places, things, or persons held in low esteem by humanity? The American equivalent of Bethlehem would be a small rural town on the margins of a politically insignificant state, perhaps somewhere in Oklahoma.

From this nowhere comes one who will not merely rule the world, but one who moves to restore it. This One knows how to restore this planet to its original and intended beauty because, quite simply, he was there when it was formed. To even speak of his origin reveals our ignorance.

Therefore he shall give them up until
the time when she who is in labor has brought forth;
then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel.

This small town on the margins of a small clan is a part of a larger nation. That nation wavered, time after time, in its faithfulness to its God. Every time this people chose to repent and return, God received them back. Every time, that is, until the last. When the fickleness of God’s people finally became a joke among the nations, then God let them go. God did not merely give up Jerusalem, or the Temple; the Holy One of Israel gave up the people of Israel. The holy temple was defiled, the holy city razed, the holy people scattered to the four corners of the earth. God gave them up.

But not forever. When “she who is in labor” bears her child, then the reunification of God and the people of God is to begin. Evidently the purpose of this child’s birth is to call all of God’s children back into relationship with God.

And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they shall live secure,
for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth;

He who stands is one who is thoroughly acquainted with the truth about humanity; he knows our weaknesses, our vulnerabilities. A relationship with this majestic one brings a vulnerable people into a safe place. In the midst of that safe place are resources, provision for daily living, bread for body and soul. Is it mere coincidence that the “Bread of Heaven” comes from the “house of bread?” Yet, this majestic one will point the thankful to the source of all providence, the faithful God of Israel. The wonder of the place in which this Shepherd stands becomes even more apparent as others come to understand this great One, and open their lives to him.

and he shall be the one of peace.

Knowing the truth of our weakness and unfaithfulness, the Shepherd nonetheless hopes. Amazingly, he has made peace between his God and his people. That is his truth, but what is his hope? I believe that he hopes for those who have chosen peace to choose to keep it, and for those who have yet to choose peace to do so as well. May it be so.

Peace, peace, in him there can be peace.

Grace and peace,

Ron