Beloved in Christ:

Bishop Deon K. Johnson of the Diocese of Missouri is a gifted prayer composer. He has written many prayers before this week (I hope he’s working on a book). In the face of the unbelievable violence, fear, and grief happening in Israel and Palestine that started over the weekend, he has helped me put words into a ravaged, wordless place in my heart and soul. This prayer particularly spoke to me today:

Cry Out! Cry Out!
O God, what shall we cry?
Cry out for justice, cry out for love.
Cry out for hope, cry out for mercy.
Cry out for kindness, cry out for compassion.
Let everything that hath breath, cry out!
What shall we cry?
Cry out for peace!
Amen.

Humans have been crying out to God forever, begging for peace. In our own small worlds of self, home, work, neighborhood, and church, let us be people who cry out for peace, with justice for all. We cannot change much, but we can work on changing ourselves. Cry out for peace, insist on it, and act on it. Peace, in the name of the Prince of Peace, God with us, Emmanuel.

In the peace of the one who created us and all the world,

Beth+