Have mercy, O God,
for destruction is our due
yet we hope in every sunrise
that the new day will bring new life.
Have mercy, O Christ,
for our separations are our death
yet we strive to live and love and leap
as though free from wounds, as though invincible.
Have mercy, O God,
for freedom has been neglected
in favor of toil and politics and ladders
that purport to reach our idols: ease & convenience.
Have mercy, O Spirit,
for we follow commandments
of fear more often than those of love,
thus we live always looking over our shoulders.
Have mercy, O God,
for death must reach us all
and our souls grieve what we cannot store,
what cannot be kept and held onto beyond this moment.
a prayer based on this Sunday’s RCL texts