Gracious God,
Surely you have a wry sense of humor!
50 degree weather in Chicago in January…
Talk about breaking barriers
and disrupting false notions of the boundaries we hold!
And we do hold them tightly, don’t we?
Some subconsciously;
Some quite consciously.
Often out of nostalgia.
Whether it be documented or undocumented;
Black or White;
orthodox or heretic;
rich or poor;
Ohio State or Michigan…
We love our boundaries!
But this weekend you remind us,
even in something as simple as surprisingly warm weather,
of the joy of boundaries broken.
And our prayer time functions to remind us further that boundaries are fluid–
sacred/profane
human/divine
public/private…
And our act of lifting our prayers up to you
disrupts the notion of a separation of me/you… of I/Thou.
We hold these prayers up together, collectively,
as OURS–shared in a radical act of hospitality.
We shoulder each other’s joys and concerns.
[read aloud the prayer cards]
And we acknowledge that even in our most hospitable moments
some things feel too heavy a burden to share,
or too private a thought to voice aloud.
To these we trust in your unfailing ability to hear us in our silence.
[pause for silent prayer]
We trust you to hear us in our silence!
The same trust helps us see your love, renewed each morning.
We trust that you are working for good in the world.
Stir up in us a desire to serve
and to live peaceably.
Help us to devote ourselves to the traditions of Jesus–who broke barriers;
cared for those in need;
reached out to the disenfranchised;
who taught us to see each other.
Teach us how to best love one another!
Blessed Be!
Prayers of the People 