Praying for peace

Perhaps those were the good old days, when summers were blanketed by days at the beach, softball games, kids bouncing with delight at the ice cream truck, vacations in the mountains, and warm afternoon picnics at the local park.

These things still happen, thankfully, but today I see them incongruously juxtaposed with the daily news. My heart grows increasingly heavy when I hear about the growing xenophobia all over the world, daily bombings in the Middle East, massive gun violence all over America, immigrant children with no place to go, and the strife and antagonism evident in the political electoral process, as we approach the most discordant national conventions in recent American history.

Instant access to breaking news gives us a more intimate sense of connection to these events, I'm sure. Or maybe I have just grown up and am more aware of current events than I used to be.  But I find the chasm between my image of summer pleasures and the reality of an increasingly dangerous, menacing world to be deeply disturbing.

In our Prayers of the People each Sunday, we pray for justice and peace. Without mentioning all of the troubling events directly, we have them in our minds as we hold their innocent victims in our prayerful hearts. But I hope we don't stop there. Our prayers are meant to be spoken commitments rather than merely inspired language.  When we pray, we commit ourselves to be participants in the creation of God's reign on earth. We commit ourselves to embrace God's values in a world that is often hostile to those values of justice, forgiveness, and mercy. And we commit ourselves to be a part of eliminating the injustice and the violence that threaten to engulf God's people.

On July 20, the Church commemorates the lives of four amazing advocates for social justice: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia Bloomer, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Ross Tubman. These 19th century saints courageously followed the path of Jesus, who proclaimed a world that brings hope for the poor, liberation for the oppressed, and healing for all nations. We too pray for this world.  And then, when we are dismissed by the deacon to "go out into the world," may we, like Sojourner and the others, be agents of God to bring about that world.