This was recently posted on my daily scripture/prayer devotional site. It's a prayer to help us cry out to God with our prayers and confessions regarding the Gulf oil spill.
Litany for the Deepwater Horizon Disaster
This is wrong.
Lord, have mercy.
This will be wrong for a long time to come.
Lord, have mercy.
We bless greed, and we, ourselves, are filled with greed.
Lord, have mercy.
We demand more energy for our homes, autos, farms, industries, war machines
Lord, have mercy.
We demand more plastic things that begin from oil: things big and small, things exotic, things expensive, things ordinary, things cheap. And, we do not know or knowing, choose to forget, that all these things come to us at a very high price, indeed.
Lord, have mercy.
And we have come to this.
Lord, have mercy.
On the souls of the 11 men who died in the explosion in the Gulf of Mexico
Lord, have mercy.
On the bodies and souls of all injured in that explosion
Lord, have mercy.
On the families, friends, and co-workers of these people
Lord, have mercy.
On the ocean, your marvelous creation,
Lord, have mercy.
On all the creatures that live in the sea
Lord, have mercy.
On all the creatures that live on the sea
Lord, have mercy
On all the creatures that live near the sea
Lord, have mercy
On the executives of British Petroleum, Transocean, and all other associated companies
Lord, have mercy
Bless them to understand and to acknowledge what they have done
Lord, have mercy
And bless us to understand and to acknowledge that we should not have made and can no longer make the demands we have been making.
Lord, have mercy.
Litany for the Deepwater Horizon Disaster
This is wrong.
Lord, have mercy.
This will be wrong for a long time to come.
Lord, have mercy.
We bless greed, and we, ourselves, are filled with greed.
Lord, have mercy.
We demand more energy for our homes, autos, farms, industries, war machines
Lord, have mercy.
We demand more plastic things that begin from oil: things big and small, things exotic, things expensive, things ordinary, things cheap. And, we do not know or knowing, choose to forget, that all these things come to us at a very high price, indeed.
Lord, have mercy.
And we have come to this.
Lord, have mercy.
On the souls of the 11 men who died in the explosion in the Gulf of Mexico
Lord, have mercy.
On the bodies and souls of all injured in that explosion
Lord, have mercy.
On the families, friends, and co-workers of these people
Lord, have mercy.
On the ocean, your marvelous creation,
Lord, have mercy.
On all the creatures that live in the sea
Lord, have mercy.
On all the creatures that live on the sea
Lord, have mercy
On all the creatures that live near the sea
Lord, have mercy
On the executives of British Petroleum, Transocean, and all other associated companies
Lord, have mercy
Bless them to understand and to acknowledge what they have done
Lord, have mercy
And bless us to understand and to acknowledge that we should not have made and can no longer make the demands we have been making.
Lord, have mercy.
Praise God Pastor for leading me to your beautiful prayer. thank you.
ReplyDeleteI plan to share your prayer with the First UMC of Palo Alto, UMW D'vora circle at tonights meeting. Bless you for your efforts.
ReplyDeleteWhile you're at it, Lord, make all the spilled oil destroying your ecosystem return to its subterranean source, and close up the earth to plug the leak.
ReplyDeleteFor Jesus said this is true: "Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you." (Mark 11:23-24)
Let us all ask the earth close up, believing it already has, and it shall be so, for the Gospels do not lie.
Right?
We are all devastated by this crisis, pastor. Yet, by word and by deed, we are all implicated.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I get into my car, I think to myself, I brought this about. Yet, there is a helplessness... as if, like a fish in a fishbowl, I do not know how to escape from the cultural infrastructure in which I have been placed.
Your Litany sums this all up so well. May I share this with my church ou Presbyterian church family -- of course, giving you the credit for having, inspired by the Holy spirit, put these words and thoughts first to paper....
thank you.... JUDY
Are you weary of the daily news onslaught relating to the Gulf's oil spill? A better question...is oil choking your faith? Share your thoughts here: http://www.richardtgarner.com/2010/06/is-oil-shaking-your-faith.html
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