Meditation/prayer based on Ephesians 2:1-10

Eternal Spirit

Who is our Alpha and Omega, a constant presence who stirs both within us, and without us in the breaking of the dawn and the setting of the sun, the beauty of a starlit sky, the wonder of a cloud of rain;

We come to you troubled by the events of the world that surround us, the steady drumbeat of news that disrupts our lives.  We awaken each morning to a world of unceasing demands, when others seem uncaring, not tuned in to the needs of their brothers and sisters.  Whether it has been the distant faces of anger and fear that we see on our television screens, the rude person next to us in line, or the driver down the street who moves unaware towards us, we have this week been enveloped by intense feelings of sadness, fear and anger, separating us from your eternal message of love and hope.

Just as these others have been unaware of the toxins that they spread, we know that we ourselves often become consumed by our own passions, our own desire for power and control, losing our connection to your grace and peace.  We in our focus on our personal goals and achievements can become lost to your eternal presence, separated from You and your abiding message.  And so it is that with your grace, your love for each of us shown through the ministry of your Son, that we can be saved from our own sin, our hurtful trespasses into the lives of others.

Help us in this time of national distress and dislocation, which rivets us to the sounds of the pain and frustration of others while we are yet in the midst of our own distractions. Even though we have been pulled aside by the endless hearings we see on our screens, help us to turn our focus to our connection to the person next to us.  Give us the strength to take time to rest and listen to one another.  Help us by your grace for old injuries to heal, for stifled voices to be finally heard.  And as we let go of our own suffering through the One who suffered for us, open our hearts and minds to the needs of those around us.  In our own circle of friends and family, and in the sacred space that is your faith community turn us to sit quietly, to listen to one another, and take part in the presence of your grace.

For we ask all this in the Name of the One who came to save us, your Son who showed us the way to living a life of compassion and love.  Amen