Prayer for a nation

A friend gave me hope this morning when she posted this from the Book of Common Prayer. It gave me the courage to post again. Father forgive us, we know not what we do.
O God, the Father of all, whose Son commanded us to love our enemies: Lead them and us from prejudice to truth; deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge; and in your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. -BCP, 1979

Awkward silence

There is a moment of suspended silence just after our prayer of confession and before the pastor offers a word of assurance and pardon on Communion Sundays. This awkward silence is often noted in the bulletin by a small phrase in parenthesis that reads (followed by silent prayer). We finish reciting a communal prayer of confession and then there is silence - an opportunity for individuals to share in their heart personal confessions of sin to God. While some can’t wait for the silence to end and move to the next thing, I must confess there are some Sundays when I wish it would last longer. In fact, one of the things that bothers me most in worship is when such a space of time is ordered into the service, but the presider resumes so quickly I’ve barely had time to finish my first thought. It’s not surprising that folks would want to trim or cut short confessing our sins before God. We’re simply not accustomed to a life of self-examination. Often, abbreviating this quiet confession isn’t even intentional. But, most days, I just need more awkward silence.
Jesus & John had a lot to say about the reality that God's kingdom has come near. Someone once wrote: "If the kingdom is coming, we have to begin to live by the king’s rules." In that case, I could use a little awkward silence.

Exercise in futility

Winter weather abounds if you are anywhere near the Southeastern U.S. Many, like myself, find themselves homebound for another day and glued to 24-hour news coverage by multiple crews reporting in locations across the state. Each station provides hourly updates on the natural progression of water shifting into a different state of matter. It's not that nothing else is happening in the world today; it's just that nothing else is happening in "our" world today. It's amusing to see trained journalists devote so much time and attention to how water is morphed from a liquid into a solid (or vice versa). What's more amusing is I've been watching their exclusive coverage all morning.
The unique thing about all the weather related news across the South this week is it's also an analogy for our human condition. The tv reports all cast this winter weather as an epic battle with road crews, government officials, and common citizens drawing up detailed plans of action. Barely 24 hours have passed since the "onslaught" of precip began and folks are trying everything possible to make sure they are freed from their homes. Officials and crews are doing everything to ensure roads are navigable. Everything about the coverage and our response tells us, in as far as possible, we must maintain life and business as usual. We cannot afford to allow interruption or give the appearance that we are not in control at any given moment. The updates of closings and delays stream across the screen like a list of casualties or lost battles. As the days progress, the shrinking list offers hope the tide has turned and we once again have the upper hand.
I love winter weather. Primarily because you can't do anything about it. You can have as many generators, plows, shovels, technology, or salt that you want; but, if Mother Nature wants to leave a wallop of freezing temperatures and precipitation, something will be coming to halt (at least momentarily). Any effort to prove otherwise is only an exercise in futility.
I tend to think things are much the same for us when God tries make himself known in our lives - to get our attention, plead for us to listen, slow us down, or steer us another direction. Most of the time, we will put a fight. We'll spend years implementing strategic plans to assert control over our own life; reaching the end, we'll wonder why we had wasted so much of our time. In the end, all God wanted was for us to slow down - to be enlightened enough to recognize we were never really in control after all.
Happy snow days!