O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will bless us with tears - for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.
Many of you may not be familiar with that short excerpt of pre-inauguration prayer by Gene Robinson since it did not make the headline for, partly, it paled in comparison to Obama's inauguration speech (and also ballroom dance), but also because HBO omitted the prayer from its broadcast.
I regret HBO's decision because I think that particular section is powerful and indeed, very true; that is what the world needs now. A heart that is sensitive enough to the suffering and injustices around us. A shattered and broken heart.
Unfortunately, in a time when peace, hope and a gentle hand are needed, too often our heart is numb and oblivious. When the headline shows catastrophic disaster killing hundres of innocents, do we see our brothers and sisters there? Do we even feel anything?
St Francis from Asisi once boldly prayed,
"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, where there is hatred let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair,hope; "
I believe that the prayer was delivered out of deep sense of compassion and care for others. Before we have the audacity to actually pray for God to make us 'an instrument of (his) peace', maybe we need to take a step back, evaluate and ask God for His heart. A heart that is compassionate enough to emphatize with others' grief, and out of love, weep together. Please God, bless us with tears.
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