Our service at Bloom was stunningly beautiful last night. Together with our friends at Hope Community Church, in a near standing-room-only basement, we gathered together to “name” and lament the many deaths, and our responsibility and complicity in those deaths, that surround us. It was powerful.
Part of the night included a prayer I wrote to help guide us into a spirit of lament. I figured I’d share it here.
Blessings,
Andrew
—
Lord of life, we come to you tonight to name and grieve the many “deaths” that surround us…
The death of hopes
The death of dreams
The death of expectations
We put so much in our idea of what the future will be, and when it becomes obvious that it will not be as we imagined, it is hard for us… Still, we name it
Tonight we grieve…
That our relationships are estranged
That our bodies are broken
That our pet projects are failing
These things are impossibly difficult for us to say, and they cause us great embarrassment… But we say them anyway
We lament before you, our Lord and Maker
That deep down
We don’t trust you
We don’t love you
And we have persistent, nagging doubts about your goodness
And it feels like mutiny to say so
Everyone told us that life with you would be bliss, but instead we have experienced only… Confusion, frustration, rejection, and deep feelings of being abandoned by you
It hurts
All of it hurts
And add to it the vague feeling that it’s our own stupid, rebellious choices that have been largely responsible for the mess we’re in, and it’s like salt in the wound
It’s not working, Lord
None of it is working
All of it is going to ashes
And you seem far
It’s as bad as it seems
And so we lift our hearts to you tonight, Lord of life
If it pleases you, hear us
And breathe life into our every desolation
In the Name of the One who entered our desolation we dare to ask. Amen.
This is so good, very rich and real and raw and painful……..isn’t life grand? smile