Prayer for Pentecost

adapted from a prayer by Janet Chrisholm

Beloved God, we give you thanks for your guidance and inspiration and the promise of Hope in our time.

You call us to love in a time of indifference, to nonviolence in a time of injustice, and to life in a time of death. You teach us not only how to live, but how to die; how to transform not only the world but our own broken hearts, as well. Your Incarnation transcends all our dreams for a better world and declares your reign here and now, at this very moment in human history.

In Jesus, we meet you, our beloved God. We see your true face. From now on we know that you are not a god of despair but of hope, not a god of wrath but of mercy; not a god of condemnation but of compassion; not a god of imperial power but of suffering; not a god of domination but of loving service; not a god of oppression but of liberation; not a god who blesses injustice but the God of justice; not a god of war but of peace; not a god of violence but of nonviolence; not a god of death but of Life. From now on we know that we all have been created to share in the fullness of life, in your love and unending mercy.

We step forward into the future, supporting each other, building community, making peace, practicing nonviolence, creating justice, and reconciling with our enemies, come what may. We have met Jesus the Rebel. He is alive and goes before us, summoning us to carry on the mission of justice and peace. We have been changed forever. Beloved God, you have begun the transformation within us. Amen.