Monday, November 24, 2014

Lord, hear my prayer

But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an every-flowing stream," Amos 5:24 

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Last spring we learned this prayer in my covenant group.  These are small groups that Truett creates for us to grow spiritually in, keep accountable in, and to learn new disciplines of faith.  Last semester we learned the Jesus Prayer, the prayer listed above.

This prayer has helped me a lot when I am at a loss for words.  When the words I want to say sound more like shouts forming in my lungs, but I feel the Lord calling me to have a spirit of peace.  A spirit of prayer.

Tonight the Grand Jury came forward with a lack of inditement to the officer in Ferguson, MO who shot Michael Brown.  My heart is pumping diligently faster than usual, yet feels like it's falling into the hollow beneath it at the same time.

On one hand, I'm enraged that our country would let someone, an officer of the law, get away with shooting someone and leaving their body in the street for over four hours.  I would hope that in America we could see that a human life is worth more dignity than that.

But on the other hand, my Christian faith is one of redemption.  I am struggling to be thankful that Officer Wilson got a second chance.  I pray that he sees his wrong and lives rightly now.  I pray for his safety.

But more than anything, I am struck by the fact that this war, this cultural war that growing up I thought was for the history books, is now ours.  It's ours to fight for the oppressed.  For those who are  oppressed because of their gender, their orientation, their race, their economic status, their mental state, their physical state, their religion, and the list goes on.  Because while I know my facts are not all straight and I know that there are two sides to every story, especially in this case, I also know what the statistics tell me about many times people of racial minorities being targeted.

But it's a war to fight in peace. love. hope.

But I am also struck by the hate that has generated hate.  How the oppressed are becoming the oppressors.  A violent response is no better than the violence that began it, regardless of the reasons.

I am struck by the lack of compassion we have toward others.  I'm struck by the hatred we feel for others.  I'm struck by the questions that fill my head.

My thoughts are like circles that hamsters are spinning in.  Like the waves on a windy morning along the coast.  All I can do... all I can say....

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us.  All sinners.

1 comment:

  1. My heart breaks much as yours does. However, we must take care to remember the comprehensiveness of grace, patience and understanding. Saying Wilson shot Brown "in cold blood" is an assumption outside of those things. It is a motivation to which you and I and every other person grieving the unrest are not privy. We cannot know, so we must be gracious, patient and understanding in our ignorance. Otherwise, we make it about the small "us" and not the big "Us."

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