“History and scripture teaches us that there can be no reconciliation without repentance, there can be no repentance without confession, and there can be no confession without truth.”
— Jemar Tisby, The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism
Injustice exists all around us, it’s just not often caught on film. This week we watched in horror as the video of George Floyd’s death surfaced online. It is so sad and disturbing and I have had no idea what to say. It invokes a righteous anger to watch a child of God plead, “I cannot breathe” and then watch as his breath is taken from him. We watched. We saw. We cannot unsee. God stands with the vulnerable and the oppressed and so must we.
I stand against violence and racism.
What does the LORD require of you? To do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
— Micah 6:8
Let us pray.
God, we are witnesses of injustice, violence, murder and death. We speak the name of your beloved child George Floyd. A man made in your holy, precious image, whose very breath was taken from him. We bring you this rage, our anger, our sadness, our apathy, our shock, our horror, our heartbreak. Our world is such a mess and we cry out in lament with the psalmist, “how long, oh Lord?”
We confess we have not loved you with our whole hearts; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name.
God we often sing, “break our hearts for what breaks yours.”
Our hearts are broken.
Your heart is broken.
We reject the sin of racism.
We reject the sin of silence.
We reject the sin of apathy and self-centeredness.
We reject the sin of indifference.
We pray that you guide us into action, show us how to work and serve to wage peace and restore justice and shalom in this hurting world.
May we die with you, Jesus, in sacrificial love.
May we rise with you, Lord Jesus, with a different kind of power that listens to the other with empathy, values others above self, fights for freedom, seeks truth and the flourishing of all.
We cannot weep at your cross, Jesus, and not weep at the suffering of people made in your image.
You tell us to mourn with those who mourn. Teach us to be people who do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, God.
Your kingdom come.
My kingdom done.
On earth as it is in heaven.
Break my heart for what breaks yours.
We need your saving, oh God.
Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy.
God save us.
Amen.
Susie Grade 