Archive for the ‘Desperation and Suffering’ Category

Above: Earthrise, Apollo 8 (1968)
Image in the Public Domain
Text by Albert F. Bayly (1901-1984)
Hymn Source = The Hymn Book of the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada (1971)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Lord, save thy world: in bitter need
thy children lift their cry to thee;
we wait thy liberating deed
to signal hope and set us free.
+++++
Lord, save thy world: our souls are bound
in iron chains of fear and pride;
high walls of ignorance around
our faces from each other hide.
+++++
Lord, save thy world: we strive in vain
to save ourselves without thine aid;
what skill and science slowly gain
is soon to evil ends betrayed.
+++++
Lord, save thy world: but thou hast sent
the Saviour whom we sorely need;
for us his tears and blood were spent,
that from our bonds we might be freed.
+++++
Then save us now, by Jesus’ power,
and use the lives thy love sets free
to bring at last the glorious hour
when all men find thy liberty.
ON THE OCCASION OF A DISASTER
Compassionate God, whose Son Jesus wept at the grave of his friend Lazarus:
Draw near to us in this time of sorrow and anguish,
comfort those who mourn,
strengthen those who are weary,
encourage those in despair,
and lead us all to fullness of life;
through the same Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer,
who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever. Amen.
Readings
Job 14:7-13 or Jeremiah 31:15-20
Psalm 60 or 130 or 80:1-7 or 23
Romans 8:35-38 or Revelation 21:1-7 or Romans 8:18-25
Luke 6:20-26 or Mark 13:14-27
—Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), 733
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
IN A TIME OF NATURAL DISASTER
O God, you divided the waters of chaos at creation.
In Christ you stilled storms, raised the dead,
and vanquished demonic powers.
Tame the earthquake, wind, and fire,
and all forces that defy control or shock us by their fury.
Keep us from calling disaster your justice.
Help us, in good times and in distress,
to trust your mercy and yield to your power, this day and for ever.
Amen.
–Andy Langford, in The United Methodist Book of Worship (1992), 509
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DURING A NATIONAL CRISIS
God of ages,
in your sight nations rise and fall,
and pass through times of peril.
Now when our land is troubled,
be near to judge and save.
May leaders be led by your wisdom;
may they search your will and see it clearly.
If we have turned from your way,
help us to reverse our ways and repent.
Give us light and your your truth to guide us;
through Jesus Christ,
who is the Lord of this world, and our Savior. Amen.
—Book of Common Worship (1993), 818
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
TIME OF CONFLICT, CRISIS, DISASTER
O God, where hearts are fearful and constricted, grant courage and hope.
Where anxiety is infectious and widening, grant peace and reassurance.
Where impossibilities close every door and and window, grant imagination and resistance.
Where distrust twists our thinking, grant healing and illumination.
Where spirits are daunted and weakened, grand soaring wings and strengthened dreams.
All these things we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 76
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
TIME OF CIVIC MOURNING
God our creator, through whose providing care we enjoy all goodness and life,
turn our eyes to your mercy at this time of confusion and loss.
Comfort this nation as we mourn;
shine your light on those whose only companion is darkness;
and teach us so to number our days that we may apply our hearts to your wisdom;
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 77
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2020/03/17/coronavirus-covid-19-prayers/
https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/03/17/coronavirus-covid-19-prayers/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I composed this prayer and selected the passages of scripture today because, while writing a post at SUNDRY THOUGHTS, not one of the available propers for martyrs seemed adequate, given the topic and my mood.
KRT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Loving God, why do the just and innocent suffer?
We read and hear ancient theological answers to that question.
Regardless of the truth of any of those answers, they fail to satisfy.
Hasten the age of your justice, we pray, so that
the meek will inherit the earth,
we will beat our swords into plowshares and learn war no more,
artificial scarcity will cease, and
nobody else will have to suffer or die for the love of one’s neighbors.
In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
Joel 3:9-16
Psalm 70
Revelation 7:13-17
Luke 6:20-26
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 15, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ZACHARY OF ROME, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JAN ADALBERT BALICKI AND LADISLAUS FINDYSZ, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS IN POLAND
THE FEAST OF OZORA STEARNS DAVIS, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF VETHAPPAN SOLOMON, APOSTLE TO THE NICOBAR ISLANDS
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/03/15/proper-for-christian-martyrs/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above: Christ Pantocrator
Image in the Public Domain
Text (1834; published in 1853) by James Montgomery (1771-1854)
Hymn Source = Hymnal and Liturgies of the Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum) (1923), Moravian Church in America
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In the hour of trial,
Jesus, plead for me;
Lest by base denial
I depart from Thee;
When Thou see’st me waver,
With a look recall,
Nor for fear or favor
Suffer me to fall.
+++++
With forbidden pleasures
Would this vain world charm;
Or its sordid treasures
Spread to work me harm;
Bring to my remembrance
Sad Gethsemane,t
Cross-crowned Calvary.
+++++
Should Thy mercy sent me
Sorrow, toil, and woe;
Or should pain attend me
On my path below;
Grant that I may never
Fail Thy hand to see;
Grant that I may ever
Cast my care on Thee.
+++++
When my last hour cometh,
Fraught with strife and pain,
When my dust returneth
To the dust again;
On Thy truth relying
Through that mortal strife,
Jesus, take me, dying,
To eternal life.

Above: The Entombment of Christ
Image in the Public Domain
Original Greek Text (700s) by St. John of Damascus
English Translation John Athelstan Laurie Riley (1858-1945)
Hymn Source = The English Hymnal (1906), The Church of England
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
What sweet of life endureth
Unmixed with Bitter Pain?
‘Midst earthly change and chances
What glory doth remain?
+++++
All is a feeble shadow,
A dream that will not stay;
Death cometh in a moment,
And taketh all away.
+++++
O Christ, a light transcendent
Shines in thy countenance,
And none can tell the sweetness,
The beauty of thy glance.
+++++
In this may thy poor servant
His joy eternal find;
Thou calledst him, O rest him,
Thou Lover of mankind!

Above: Nevada State Orphanage, Carson City, Nevada
Image Source = Library of Congress
Litany Source = A Book of Worship for Free Churches (1948), the General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches in the United States
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Let us thank God for his blessings. For all thy blessings in creation; for the beauty of earth and sea and sky; for thy manifold works, and the wisdom with which thou hast made them all,
We thank thee, O God.
For the happiness of our earthly life; for peaceful homes and healthful days; for our powers of mind and body; for faithful friends, for the joy of loving and being beloved,
We thank thee, O God.
For the revelation of thy love and for newness of life in our Saviour; for the blessings brought to us by thy holy Church; for the grace of thy sacraments and for our fellowship with thee in Christ,
We thank thee, O God.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us. From blindness to thy presence in life and sacrament; from hardness of heart and from want of truth, in thought and word and deed,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From all that would injure the body, from unworthy fears and anxieties, from despondency, discontent and despair,
Good Lord, deliver us.
From want of sympathy with friends and neighbors; from harsh judgments and ill-feeling towards any; from idle talk and slander; from want of love for our contrary, and unwillingness to seek the common good,
Good Lord, deliver us.
When we question the value of life; when our sense of duty grows faint through self-indulgence; in suffering and failure; in times of happiness and success; in our days of labor and our nights of rest; in the freedom of youth and the weariness of old age; in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment,
Good Lord, deliver us.
That it may please thee to bless with wisdom and courage to those to whom the people have entrusted power, and to give thy guidance and blessing to all who hold rule over their fellows;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to inspire all who are seeking to improve the conditions of our industrial life, and to give fortitude and new hope to all who are out of work;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please thee to solace all who have lost those whom they most loved; to sustain the widows and orphans; to uphold all who are sick and suffering; to protect such as have lost the kindly light of reason; and to supply the needs of the blind, the deaf, and the dumb;
We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.
May the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the splendor of the Eternal Light, remove from our hearts all darkness, now and forevermore. Amen.
–Pages 306-309

Above: The Lamentation of Christ, by El Greco
Image in the Public Domain
Prayer Source = Book of Worship (1942), Evangelical and Reformed Church
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
God of comfort and infinite compassion, who canst turn sorrow into joy;
look mercifully upon all who are in trouble whether of mind, body, or estate;
sustain and heal the sick;
support and sanctify the dying;
visit with thy mercy those who mourn.
Pour thy divine peace into every wounded spirit;
and give to each desolate soul the assurance of thy love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Above: A King’s Burden
Image in the Public Domain
Original German Text (1700) by Caspar Neumann (1648-1715)
English Translation (1863) by Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878)
Hymn Source = Evangelical Lutheran Worship (1908), Evangelical Lutheran Joint Synod of Ohio and Other States (1818-1930)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Lord, on earth I dwell sad-hearted,
Here I oft must mourn and sigh:
Wherefore hast Thou then departed,
Why didst Thou ascend on high?
Take me, take me hence with Thee,
Or abide, Lord, still with me;
Let Thy love and gifts be left,
That I be not all bereft.
+++++
Leave Thy heart still inly near me,
Take mine hence where Thou art gone;
Open heav’n to me, and hear me,
When to Thee I cry alone;
When I cannot pray, O plead
With the Father in my stead;
Seated now at God’s right hand,
Help us here, Thy faithful hand.
+++++
Worldly joys I cast behind me,
Let me choose the better part,
And though mortal chains yet bind me,
Heav’nward tend my thoughts and heart;
That my time through faith may be
Ordered for eternity;
Till we rise, all perils o’er,
Whither Thou hast gone before.
+++++
Then return, the promise keeping,
That was made to us of old;
Raise the members that are sleeping,
Gnaw’d of death, beneath the mould;
Judge the evil world that deems
Thy sure words but empty dreams;
And for all our sorrows past
Let us know Thy joy at last.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above: Christ Blessing, by Nardo di Cione
Image in the Public Domain
Text (1901) by Cleland Boyd McAfee (1866-1944), a minister of the former Presbyterian Church in the United States (1861-1983), after two nieces died concurrently of diphtheria
Hymn Source = The Presbyterian Hymnal: Hymns, Psalms, and Spiritual Songs (1990), Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1. There is a place of quiet rest,
Near to the heart of God,
A place where no sin can molest,
Near to the heart of God.
O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us, who wait before Thee,
Near to the heart of God.
2. There is a place of comfort sweet,
Near to the heart of God,
A place where we our Savior meet,
Near to the heart of God.
O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us, who wait before Thee,
Near to the heart of God.
3. There is a place of full release,
Near to the heart of God,
A place where all is joy and peace,
Near to the heart of God.
O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us, who wait before Thee,
Near to the heart of God.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This is post #1550 of GATHERED PRAYERS.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above: A Barber Shop Located in the Ninth Ward, New Orleans, Louisiana, Damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005
Photographer = Carol M. Highsmith
Image Source = Library of Congress
Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-highsm-04024
Prayer by Andy Langford
Prayer Source = The United Methodist Book of Worship (1992)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
O God, you divided the waters of chaos at creation.
In Christ you stilled storms, raised the dead,
and vanquished demonic powers.
Tame the earthquake, wind, and fire,
and all the forces that defy control or shock us by their fury.
Keep us from calling disaster your justice.
Help us, in good times and in distress,
to trust your mercy and yield to your power, this day and for ever.
Amen.
You must be logged in to post a comment.