Ah, LORD God.

From the east and the west, from the north and the south,
from the streets to the fields to the cities to the mountains
we gather:

to praise you
to wonder over you
to rail against you
to plead with you
to find you
to love you
to be loved by you.

What should be found easily
at the core of our hearts & on the tips of our tongues
feels as far away as the heights of heaven:
neighborly compassion
abundant love
gracious understanding
showing up for one another.

What should be found easily
at the core of your heart & on the tip of your tongue
feels as far away as the scattered stars of heaven:
justice for the disenfranchised
comfort for the mourning
healing for the injured
conversion of the contented.

Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love, for they have been for generations your reputation. Be a present help to the families & friends of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and Sandra Bland (arrested one year ago today). Be a balm to the hurting & outcrying cities of Dallas and St. Paul and Baghdad. Be a deliverance from the willfully ignorant, from the hateful, and from the passersby — and an exorcist when they are us. Pity us, O Christ, for we cannot get our act together in order to love one another as you taught.

May you delight in prospering love
where despair threatens to take root.

May the knowledge of your grace
set our feet on paths toward justice.

May the hope laid up for us in heaven
be manifest in protest on earth.

Rise up, O God!
Awake and be who you are,
for the sake of us all. Amen.

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