Creator God: a prayer of agony and anguish November 6, 2021
Posted by Phil Groom in Christianity, Prayer, Theological Reflection, Watching and Waiting.Tags: COP26, Prayer
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Creator God,
Sustainer of the Universe,
Author of all that is good,
Great artist whose handiwork
spans snowflakes and star fields,
joins atoms and eons,
why did you entrust this world
to creatures so fickle as us?
Did you know that we would take
the sacred remains of those
who came before us
and burn them to fuel
our greed,
our avarice?
Did you know that when you came
to dwell in our midst,
speaking peace,
we would murder you
and twist your welcoming words
into a message of shame,
driving the outcasts,
those whom you called friends,
even further away?
I dare to believe that you did,
that you knew,
that you counted the cost
and found it a price worth paying,
that the pain you bore
and the blood you shed
were built into your plan
from the very beginning.
I dare to believe
that the trust you’ve placed
in these fickle hearts
will be trust repaid
as we find our way
towards a world repaired,
that the harm we’ve done
can be turned around
to build a better world:
A world where love
is the greatest thing,
where the lost are found
and the captives freed,
where the truth is told
and the truth is heard
and the “Blah blah blah”
of the hypocrites
is gently overcome
by the weeping crowds
turning things around
to find a better way;
A world where hope
leads to trust renewed,
where resources shared
open doors once closed,
where the poor are fed
and the naked clothed,
and the path we tread
is the way back home
to you.
Coronanvirus: A Lament June 4, 2020
Posted by Phil Groom in Church, Current Affairs, Life, Prayer, Watching.Tags: 40000 deaths, Britain in a time of crisis, Coronavirus, Corvid19, Faith, grief, lament, sorrow
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I was sad when they said to me, “Let us go up to the House of the Lord,” for the great congregation was no more.
I looked and I saw empty spaces where the elders once sat; and widows and orphans sat apart in silence, alone they sat as tears ran down our faces. Together we wept as alone we sat. Loneliness and tears are now our companions, our only friends are sorrow and grief.
Where are you, O Lord God of our ancestors? Where is your great power? Why have you turned your back on your people, walked away and rejected our prayers?
Look with pity on your people, O Lord, and turn back from your rage. Speak, O Lord, into the silence that surrounds us; in the emptiness make your voice heard. We have heard tell of your great love and together we sang your praise; but now we sing alone and our prayers return to us unheard.
Our computer screens mock us and our phone batteries die; our eyes strain and our backs ache. Our minds grow numb and our hands tremble; over keyboards without words our fingers shake. Our mouths turn dry and speech flees from our lips.
Our leaders abandon your ways; lies and deceit spew forth from their mouths. Rules they make and break them saying, “We did the right thing.” Science is their watchword whilst the scientists go unheard; “We follow the data,” they say, whilst truth is twisted and truth speakers are silenced. Hypocrisy reigns and whispers behind closed doors echo across the land.
Surely sadness and grief shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of my sorrow for ever; and we of all the nations on earth are become the most to be pitied.
Selah.
Prayer of the Bánfaith February 1, 2010
Posted by Phil Groom in Books, Prayer.Tags: Druid, Hope, Jesus, Prayer, Spirituality
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Came across this prayer in Scarlet, Book 2 of Stephen Lawhead’s King Raven Trilogy (pp.243-244). Hope it touches your spirit as powerfully as it touched mine; even more, I hope that you can join me in making it your prayer:
O Wise Head, Rock and Redeemer,
In my deeds, in my words, in my wishes,
In my reason, and in the fulfilling of my desires, be Thou.
In my sleep, in my dreams, in my repose,
In my thoughts, in my heart and soul always, be Thou.
And may the promised Son of Princely Peace dwell,
Aye! in my heart and soul always.
May the long awaited Son of Glory dwell in me.In my sleep, in my dreams, in my repose,
In my thoughts, in my heart and soul always, be Thou.
Thou, a bright flame before me be,
Thou, a guiding star above me be,
Thou, a smooth path below me be,
And Thou a stout shield behind me be,
Today, tonight and ever more.
This day, this night, and forever more
Come I to Thee, Jesu —
Jesu, my Druid and my Peace.
I guess it’s the idea of Jesus as Druid that connects with me most powerfully: not some majestic, other-worldly Lord of the Universe but a fellow human being on the same journey through life with me, yet one who has already touched the mystery, upon whom I can call to sustain me in my journey.
Walking with him, the veil is thinner and hope grows stronger.
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