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 a world of great wealth
where many go hungry
and fortunes are won and lost
by trading in money,
come, Holy Spirit, and show us what is true.

In a world of great knowledge
where many die in ignorance
and every piece of information
has a price in the market-place,
come, Holy Spirit, and show us what is true.

In a world of easy communication,
where words leap between continents
and we expect to see a picture
to illustrate each item of the news,

In the depth of silence
listen to the movement of the Spirit.

In the depth of silence
listen to the beating of your heart,
listen to the gurgling of the stream,
listen to the blowing of the wind.

In the depth of silence,
listen to the cry of the voiceless,
listen to the groaning of the hungry,
listen to the sigh of the oppressed.

In the depth of silence
listen to the peace of justice,
listen to the joy of celebration,
listen to the hope of a new world.