Sunday, March 25, 2018

LENTEN PRAYERS 2018: PRAYING THE DAILY GOSPEL

SIXTH SUNDAY
Luke 19:41-48

Jesus, weep for us! Weep for us because in all our worldly, pragmatic wisdom, we do not know what creates real peace. We do not know how to receive your gift that quells our individual and corporate anxiety.

Many of us are somewhat comfortable with all that we have amassed, but we are continuously nagged by the notion that we need more. We keep accumulating. Then we keep developing better home security systems and bigger national defense systems, in order to protect all that is ours. We are even willing to do or permit violence in order to achieve security. But these measures provide only modest relief for our anxiety.

We cling to the words of pastors, priests and politicians who speak to our fears and deepen our anxiety in order to have control over us. Now, we are out of control in our desperate grasping for what can never be achieved through anxious acts.

Enable us to cling to your words. Enable us to follow You by investing ourselves in God’s reign and trusting You for all that we truly need. Enable us to follow You in acting with generosity toward our many neighbors and loving our enemies in ways that make us vulnerable. 

Eradicate the anxiety and the violence that rattle our minds. Enable us to keep our thoughts focused on You, our model and source of peace. Help us to receive your peace in order to be peacemakers in our individual, corporate and national lives. Amen.

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