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PRAY NOW: TODAY'S PRAYER
Lament
'I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.'
Psalm 6:6
Prayer
God,
Sometimes
all there is. . .
is tears.
An aching,
an emptiness,
an experience of abandonment.
The loss of someone we loved,
the end of something that gave
life meaning,
the absence of You.
| Sometimes
the only response
is tears.
In the face
of my helplessness,
nothing
I can do or say
to help
or to mend
another's broken-ness.
So tears
may be
the only meaningful,
meaning-laden
response. |
 |
Jesus wept.
So why might I
resist
or regret
such a natural
expression of sorrow
or act of compassion?
Readings
Job 2:11–13 Job's comforters' initial response to his suffering
John 11:28–37 Jesus' response to the grief of Mary and her friends
Luke 19:41f Jesus weeps over Jerusalem
Matthew 27:45–50 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'
Prayer activity
In church circles and wider society we can get the feeling that to shed tears is to
be weak or is a sign of not coping. Our readings from the Old Testament and from
the Gospels contradict this. Tears can be a relief, a release of a build up of tension
or a natural human response to loss and suffering which reveals how we really
feel for, and about, another in situations when words are inadequate. In the quiet,
remember times when tears have been a release for you or when the tears of others
have been a comfort or brought solace. Thank God for the gift of tears.
Prayer for the Church
Those concerned with government at international, national, regional and local levels
especially the Church and Society Council, the Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office
and my elected representatives in government.
Blessing
May the love of the Wounded Healer,
The compassion of the Christ who wept,
The gentleness of our Companion along the Way,
Surround you and those whom you love,
This day, this night and forevermore. AMEN.
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