Litany for a Terrorized City

*I originally wrote this litany as a response to the attack on Brussels on March 22, 2016. I later learned that many other places in the world were attacked by ISIS during the surrounding time period, attacks that never made headline news. This litany can be used to pray for folks in any location that has experienced terrorism. I wish it weren't true that we might have use for a general prayer for terrorized cities. Christ, have mercy.

God, we cry out to You on behalf of the people of [Brussels, Belgium].
     For the families and friends of those killed in the attacks, we cry.
     For those wounded, we cry.
     For the bystanders, those shocked and terrified, we cry.
     For the emergency workers, giving tirelessly of themselves, we cry.
     For those in government and law enforcement, we cry.
     For the residents of the city, stranded and immobilized, we cry.
     For a world beset by evil, we cry.

We commend the souls lost into Your care,
And ask for healing and comfort for those that remain.

These events bring us into a place of questioning:
     Of Your goodness
     Of Your sovereignty
     Of the nature of humanity
     Of the future of the world
     Of how we might move forward.

We commend those questions into Your care,
     Asking You for wisdom
     Asking You for hope
     Asking You for courage to continue on in good work
     Asking You for help in overcoming
     Asking You for comfort in trouble
     Asking You for a heart of love toward our enemies
     Asking You for justice.

We acknowledge that our lives are precious, vulnerable, and often short.
We acknowledge that safety is never guaranteed.
We acknowledge our inability to perfectly follow Jesus’ example
     of meekness, forgiveness, and peacemaking.
We acknowledge that when Jesus took upon himself the wrongdoing of the world,
he took terrorism also.

We look toward the completion of Jesus’ work.
We look toward the fullness of Your kingdom come,
And Your will done on earth as it is in heaven. 
We look toward the day when the whole world is aligned with the law of love.

Be near to the brokenhearted, close in Your compassion and lovingkindness, Generous in Your giving of understanding.

Amen

Litany: A Meditation on Love

Oh God, open our hearts now;
Grant that we may become a people fragrant and suffused with LOVE
     The unforgettable Love of God.
We set aside our own agendas in favor of Love’s agenda,
And desire that the Love of God may live and move within and among us
     Saturating us so that excess spills out wherever we go.

Re-orient us around LOVE
Our God is LOVE.
Refashion us to LOVE’s image;
Our way is LOVE.

By love, Christ came into the earth.
By love, Christ humbled himself to become human.
By love, Christ preached God’s kingdom.
By love, Christ healed and fed multitudes.
By love, Christ was led, a lamb to slaughter
By love, Christ absorbed within himself the wrongdoing of all people.
By love, Christ shortened the distance between ourselves and God
By love, Christ absolved his tormentors.
By love, Christ put death to rest.
By love, Christ rose up into glorified life.
By love, Christ commissioned the spreading of the Good News of Love.
By love, Christ re-imagined humankind.
By love, Christ ascended into heaven, promising to be with us always.
By love, Christ gave the Holy Spirit as our helper.

The Love of God became fulfilled in Christ Jesus.
The Love of God floods out over the earth, over His kingdom.
The Love of God is the new order, our paradigm for living.
The Love of God fills our hearts, changes our lives, remakes our beings.

May Love shatter us and rebuild us anew.
May Love encompass us and protect us.
May Love reform us from violence and power-seeking.
May Love make us compassionate.
May Love teach us to walk in the new way, the beautiful way.

May we be liberated from expectations placed on us by religions, societies, empires, cultures;
And delivered into Love’s hands,
    Following Love’s direction,
    Under Love’s authority,
    Helpless to but to fall under Love’s sway.

Litany for the Disqualified

Gracious, Loving God:
We whose hearts desire to serve You, to minister in Your kingdom,
     and to follow the loving example of leadership that Christ set forth;
We look now to You.

Many of us have been told, in various ways, by ourselves and by others
That we are disqualified from service.
Some of us have been told that we are
     the wrong gender
     the wrong age
     the wrong race
     the wrong class
     not holy enough
     not experienced enough
     not enough.

We seek now to have our minds transformed;
To have our presumptions set right;
Our slates wiped clean.

Give us courage
     to walk in the calling You have placed on us,
     to overcome those forces that would have us be ineffective,
     to listen to Your voice above the voices that would have us disqualified.

May we take our example from the meekness of Christ, His gentleness
     but also His assertiveness and steadfastness of purpose.
For he too was disdained, regarded as weak,
     not enough of a warrior to be a King.

Teach us the ways of Your kingdom
     the way of peace
     the way of love
     the way of beauty.
Empower us by Your Holy Spirit.
Provide for us with the abundance that is the hallmark of Your generosity.

May we know deeply that You have qualified us in Christ Jesus,
     and that, in Him, we are enough.

Amen

Resurrection Sunday: "Life"

God, your works are marvelous
Your power, amazing.

We are astonished at what You have done:
You have raised Jesus
Who was put to death at the hands of an angry multitude
Who was beaten, nailed, and pierced;
You have raised him to glorious Life.
We are astonished at this gospel.

We stand now silent before you, too surprised for words.
(pause)

And now we raise a shout:
(All:) HALLELUJAH!

That Jesus Christ, put to death on a cross
Is now alive and ruler of the world!
Again we raise our voices:
(All:) HALLELUJAH!

For death has lost its sting.
The grave has been overtaken by life.
The new Kingdom has begun.
The way of love is victorious.

And this gospel fills our hearts, and all the earth:
All: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

Hallelujah!

Lent Series: Litany for Good Friday, "Death"

Great God, we acknowledge that we are not always able to recognize Your ways as good
We confess that we are, at times, confounded;
As on Good Friday, when we commemorate the death of one so dear to us
The Savior, Christ the King.

As a seed must pass through death to sprout new life,
So Jesus Christ has passed into death.
Taking the nature of a human, a servant
He made himself nothing
He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death
Even death on a cross!

For three days, we wait with him, for death to accomplish its purpose;
For Christ’s sacrifice to be made meaningful;
For Christ to re-imagine death.
We grieve, even while we are hopeful.

We wait, and as the stones seal Christ’s body in the tomb, even then we say:
“Oh Death, Where is Your sting? O Grave, Where is your victory?”
And we acknowledge Your good way, the confounding way of obedience to death
That brings us toward Life and Hope.

Amen

Lent Series: Litany for Palm Sunday, "Fulfillment"

"Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" comes directly from John 12, the instance for which Palm Sunday derives its name; in which the people of Jerusalem pave the streets with palm branches and garments, an ancient version of a red carpet, for Jesus and the donkey colt he rides upon. Earlier in the text, Mary pours a pint of expensive nard, a costly essential oil, on Jesus feet.

Hosanna!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

The One we have long awaited, the Messiah, has come.
Hosanna!
Riding into Jerusalem, not on a warhorse, but on a young donkey,
Hosanna!
The Prince of Peace has come, the one who heals our wounds.
Hosanna!

Everything that was foretold, Christ has fulfilled.
We offer a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.
We set up a banquet, and pour costly perfume at His feet.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

This is Jesus
Whose name is glorified
This is Jesus
High and lifted up

Hosanna!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

Lent Series: Litany for Lent, Week 5 "Waiting"

God, in this season of Lent
We quiet our souls
That we may see more clearly the one our hearts long for
We ask, seek, and knock
That our prayers may be answered
And our longing fulfilled

We acknowledge that so much of faith-life involves waiting
     for the voice of God to speak
     for the Spirit of God to move
     for the fullness of Your kingdom to come
     for Christ’s return
     for the world to be made new
     for justice and peace to become ordinary
     for love to become the world’s motivation

We acknowledge that even as we wait, you are working
     redeeming the earth
     redeeming people
     confirming Your love.

As Christ waited three days in a tomb
So do we wait for resurrection life.
We wait in faith,
That You are even now giving us new life.
We wait in hope for the Lord.
All creation waits for the Lord.

Amen

Lent Series: Litany for Lent, Week 4 "Thirst"

This prayer in the Lent Series is written for the fourth Sunday in Lent (this year March 6). I re-used lyrics from one of my songs for this one. You can find the prayers for the first Sunday in Lent (February 14, 2016) here, the second Sunday (Feb 21, 2016) here, and the third Sunday (February 28, 2016 ) here.

God, in this season of Lent we reflect upon our emptiness, and Your fullness
Our souls thirst for You.
We come to You, Wellspring of Life
Our flesh longs for you.
You graciously offer us a fountain of water, springing up to eternal life
In a dry and weary land, where there is no water.

Jesus, You are the Living Water, the holy spring
You satisfy our deepest needs.
Whoever drinks of the water You give
Need never thirst again.

We acknowledge the miracle, mystery, and kindness of Your provision
We were thirsty, and you gave us a drink.
Fulfill now Your promise to us:
That those who thirst for righteousness will be filled.

May our hunger, thirst, and need always lead us to You
Let all who are thirsty come to Jesus and drink of living water.

Amen

Lent Series: Litany for Lent, Week 3 "Hunger"

This prayer in the Lent Series is written for the third Sunday in Lent (this year February 28). You can find the prayer for the first Sunday in Lent (February 14, 2016) here, and the second Sunday (Feb 21, 2016) here.

God, in this season of Lenten fasting we set our eyes toward You.
We turn our hearts in Your direction.
We acknowledge our great need for you, and our great hunger.
Give us food from Your hand, oh God.
We confess that we often seek to fill a void inside us with frivolous things, spiritual junk food.
Forgive us, and bless us with manna from heaven.

We set aside the expectation that our hunger might be satisfied by anything but Your Spirit.
Nourish our souls, oh God.
We rely upon Your promise of provision.
They that hunger for righteousness will be filled.
Where we are empty
Fill us up, Oh God.

Jesus said: “I am the bread of Life. Those who come to me will not hunger.”
We come to You, Jesus.
We do not live by bread alone
But by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Amen

Lent Series: Litany for Lent, Week 2 "Mercy"

This prayer in the Lent Series is written for the second Sunday in Lent (this year February 21). You can find the prayer for the first Sunday in Lent (this year February 14) here.

Hear, Oh God, when we call to You
Have mercy on us and answer us.

In our vulnerability
Have mercy on us, oh God
In our forgetfulness
Have mercy on us, oh God
In our anxiety
Have mercy on us, oh God
In our wrongdoing
Have mercy on us, oh God
In our hard-heartedness
Have mercy on us, oh God
In our blindness,
Have mercy on us, oh God

In your mercy, you rescue us from our enemies.
In your mercy, you remove our transgressions from us.
In your mercy, you made a way for us to be reconciled to You.
In your mercy, you sent your Son, Jesus Christ, to heal our brokenness.

Grant that in this season of Lent, our hearts may be devoted to You,
That we may see Your mercies new each day.
Grant that we may be always ready to offer mercy to those in need of it,
For mercy triumphs over judgement.

Amen

Litany for Ash Wednesday

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. Congregants wear a smudge of ash on their foreheads to symbolize repentance and fasting, and commence the season of preparation for Easter.

Oh God, we are reminded this day of the temporality of our lives here on the earth.
We are dust and to dust we will return.
It is by your Spirit and your power that we are given life.
You are the source of all hope and life.

We enter now a season of repentance.
That we may turn from selfishness.
We set aside some comforts
That we may turn our attention to Your holiness.
Cast now our transgressions far from us
As far is the east is from the west.

We mourn the profound disconnection from You that happened at the dawn of humankind.
Bring us back into Your presence.
We rejoice in the perfect work of Christ on earth.
Christ reconciles us to You.

Prepare our hearts, Oh God, for Resurrection life.
You bring beauty from ashes.
Prepare our hearts for the joy of Your coming.
You bring gladness from mourning.
Prepare our hearts for the fullness of Your presence.
You bring forth praise from despair.

Amen

Litany for Fat Tuesday

This litany was originally posted at Godspace. Happy Mardi Gras!

God,
We revel in your expansive grace;
We bask in your boundless love;
We delight in the excess of your blessings to us.

As Christ turned water to wine at Cana,
So You are spreading out a bountiful feast for Your people.

We acknowledge that your kingdom is
    always expanding
    always welcoming
    always inviting
    always growing  
    always blessing
    always filling.

We acknowledge that in Your presence there is always
    a joyful song
    a chorus of worship
    a fountain of life.

We acknowledge that your attitude toward us is always
    joyful celebration
    unconditional love
    wholehearted acceptance.

The universe is bursting, drunk with Your love.
Our hearts are plump, satisfied with Your love.
Our lives are filled up, ripe with Your blessing.

May we live our lives in the fullness of joy.
Amen

Litany for Parents of Small Children

Gracious God,
We are grateful for the precious lives you have entrusted into our care. These children are our blessing and our gift.
We acknowledge that they are in our care only temporarily, and will soon outgrow their need for us.
We acknowledge that the path of parenting can at times be difficult, challenging, and painful.

May we selflessly give of ourselves to our children.
May we faithfully engage in self-care, that we may give of our overflow.
May we constantly be in Your presence, drawing from You what we need to parent well.
May we clearly see each child’s needs and individuality, and provide for each with love.
May we teach our children discipline and set boundaries for their protection.
May we parent our children with emotional honesty, authenticity, and willingness to admit our weakness.
May we remember that parenting is an opportunity for expressing creativity and uniqueness.
May our experience of raising our children be joyful, for us and for them.

When our patience is running low, renew our supply.
When our children annoy us, help us to moderate our irritation.
When our children seem endlessly needy, give us resources.
When our tempers flare, give us grace and humility.

When we are tired and wanting to be lazy, give us new strength.
When we make mistakes, may we quickly acknowledge them and seek forgiveness.
When we become disconnected from our children, show us the way to connection and communication.
When we forget who our children are at the present time, at their particular stages of development, give us gentle reminders.
When we have inappropriate expectations, set us to rights.

May we imitate your perfect model of parenting:
     always patient
     always gracious
     firm yet loving
     establishing boundaries
     meeting needs with kindness.

We recognize that ultimately are children are in Your care, and Your love for them eclipses our own.
Amen

Lent Series: Litany for Lent, Week 1 "Temptation"

Holy God: in this season of Lenten fasting, we remember Christ
Who went out into the desert to fast and undergo temptation.
We confess that we are often distracted by material comforts
And tempted to value them above the Kingdom of God.

You, God, are our help in difficulty;
Christ is our inspiration.
We confess that we do not live by bread or worldly provision alone,
But by every word that comes from Your mouth.

May we fill our mouths, our hearts, our minds now with your words
That we might be transformed and renewed.
May we, with renewed hearts and minds,
Better serve the purposes of Your kingdom.
May we, by setting aside worldly distractions
Become more like Christ.
May we, with purified motives and deeper understanding,
Receive Christ when He comes to us.

Lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.

Amen

Litany for the Presence of God

*This litany contains more formal, directly scriptural language; which I think is nice interspersed with less formal contemporary language in the modern worship service. "Sunday Best" language, spoken aloud in community with sincere hearts can feel fresh, and shed new light on Biblical turns of phrase.

Oh, the majesty and magnificence of Your presence!
Oh, the beauty of Your sanctuary!

Give to the Lord honor and offerings
For great are You, Lord, and greatly to be praised.
Give to the Lord glory and honor -
The glory and honor due to Your name!

We enter Your gates with thanksgiving, and Your courts with praise.
To be in your presence, Lord, is joy.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
To be in your presence, Lord, is to be free.
You bless Your people with peace.
In Your presence is peace that surpasses our understanding.

We earnestly seek the presence of the Lord all day long.
Joy, freedom, and peace are the hallmarks of our lives.
Daily we carry the presence of the Lord with us,
And this mystery is Christ in us, the hope of glory.

Daily we acknowledge Christ, in all things;
For in Him all things hold together.
Daily we reach out for You, Lord, and find You, for You are not far from us.
In You we live and move and have our being. We are Your children.

Amen

Litany for Justice and Equality (and Martin Luther King)

*This litany was originally written for MLK day, but also has implications for the 2016 elections. Some of the language was influenced by Brian Zahnd's excellent book _Beauty Will Save The World_, and also the prayer echoes some of the language in the worship song "Form Us" by Casey Corum and Anabeth Morgan.

Oh God, we are reminded today of Your infinite Love for all people:
All races
All colors
All political affiliations
All religious persuasions
All social classes
All economic statuses
All nations.

We confess our tendency to think that we are the best, our perspective the most righteous.
Forgive us our arrogance, Oh God.
We confess our tendency to judge others, and to condemn those we find unworthy.
Forgive us our impertinence, Oh God.

We see others with criticism.
You see us all with love-filled eyes.
We see only in part.
You see the world with infinite wisdom.
We see the external.
You see the heart.

Mold us to Your way.
Form us to Your heart.
Shape us with love.
Make us new with grace.

Our way is not of violence and empire, but in the power and beauty of the cross.
Our faith is not in politics, but in the transforming love of Christ.

May we work diligently to help meet the needs of those You love, both physical and spiritual.
May our eyes be opened to the value and worth of each person we meet.
May Your kingdom come, Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.

Amen
 

Litany for Retreat

*This litany was originally written for a retreat for gathered worship leaders in the Vineyard movement, of which I am a part. The congregational refrain is the simple "hallelujah." I think this lends itself to various types of retreats for both leaders and lay-folk.

Oh God, we are reminded that You are the Author of work, rest, and play.
Hallelujah
We recognize our being made in Your image, having need of all three.
Hallelujah
With consciousness and intention, we now set aside our daily tasks and make space for relaxation, revival, and enjoyment.
Hallelujah
We breathe deeply of Your presence, and drink deeply of Your delight.
Hallelujah
We pray for open ears and soft hearts, that we might hear Your renewed calling on our lives and be willing to accept it.
Hallelujah
We soak in the freedom and joy of being among people who share in our passions.
Hallelujah
May we emerge from our respite with clean hands, pure hearts, and steadfast spirits.
Hallelujah
At the end of our rest, may we re-enter our ministries with refreshed balance, purpose, energy, and clarity.
Hallelujah

Amen

Litany for Gratitude

To You, O God, we give thanks.

We give thanks for the morning, when joy comes to us.
We give thanks for the evening, when we meditate on your love.
We give thanks for the in-between, the working hours, the accomplishing hours; when we must practice gratitude amidst distraction and busyness.
We give thanks for the long dark of night, when our souls and bodies assimilate and regenerate.

We give thanks for the people we love effortlessly, but also for the people who chafe and challenge us.
We give thanks for our enemies, who teach us to bless and forgive.
We give thanks for our families, who teach us grace and forbearance.
We give thanks for those whose lives we touch only momentarily - may we be a lasting blessing.

We give thanks for the boisterous, jubilant seasons. 
We give thanks for the subtle, quiet seasons. 
We give thanks for the seasons of difficulty and pain. 
May we emerge from each bearing the image of Christ Jesus.

We give thanks both when we are certain, and when uncertainty plagues us; both in the black and white, and in the gray.

We give thanks to You, acknowledging that every drop and morsel that sustains us comes from Your hand; that our place in the universe exists because You created it; and that Your purposes exceed the bounds of our imagining.

Litany for Epiphany

Epiphany is the day in the liturgical calendar that the church traditionally celebrates the coming of the Three Kings, the "Wise Men" who paid homage and gave costly gifts to the Christ Child. We also celebrate the manifestation, or revelation, of Christ to non-Jewish people.

Oh God, as the kings of old traveled great distances and expended great effort to acknowledge the coming of Christ the King, so we acknowledge this great epiphany:

Christ has come. Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

All of our hopes are bound up in the person of Jesus Christ. We could not hope for better news than His gospel.

To Christ we offer our most profound gifts:
talent
effort
time
attention;
In certainty that what we offer will be put to good use, woven into the fabric of Christ’s completed work.

And this is the work Christ has done and is doing: awakening in us and in the earth the Kingdom of God -- that good kingdom, that Promised Land, present and unseen, now and not yet, revealed and mysterious.

May our gifts be as pleasing to you as gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And may we continually renew our understanding and awe of the coming and work of Christ Jesus.

Amen

Litany for New Year’s Day

Faithful God, we look back on the year behind us and appreciate Your presence with us through it. We look ahead at the year before us with hope, and anticipate Your continuing love and the fulfillment of your promises.

In this new year, grant that we may become
more faithful
more committed to your kingdom work
more knowledgeable of your ways
more familiar with your spirit
more pliant to your instruction
more willing to give of ourselves to others

We pray for increase
of love
of storehouses full of good things to share
of relational harmony and peace
of health
of meaningful work
of balance among work, play, and rest
of personal growth and wisdom
of grateful hearts
and most of all, of your presence and power among us.

May we hear your voice more clearly, and heed it.
May we be aware of the limits of our understanding, and work to expand them.
May the words of Christ dwell in us richly.
May we be vigilant for those around us who are in need and tend to them.
May we experience anew the rebirth and resurrection life of Jesus.
May we complete the tasks you set before us, love well those souls you give to our care, and make good use of the time we are given on the earth.

We are grateful for Your love, kindness, and care.
Amen