A priest and performer considers religion, the arts, and the often thin space between sacred and secular, church and culture, pulpit and pew.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Tikkun Olam - A Litany for the Healing of the World

The Hebrew phrase “tikkun olam” means to repair or to heal the world. I wrote this litany for used in my parish this Sunday (World Mission Sunday in TEC) as a response to the violence, need, and sorrow that is currently present in the world God so loves.

God of love, whose Son Jesus Christ is named the Prince of Peace, we pray for all nations and regions experiencing violence: where governments attack their people, or foreign forces strike;
where protestors clash with police and the military; where bombs, missiles, gunfire, and brute strength assault, maim, and kill the innocent.

Hear our prayer, O Lord,
And let our cry come before you.

God of justice, who rules heaven and earth with a merciful hand, we pray for those places where governments are failing: where coups and hostile forces wreak havoc, and leaders abdicate responsibility; where economic, legal, and civil disintegration jeopardize happy and peaceful living;
where unstable governance threatens the safety of the people.

Hear our prayer, O Lord,
And let our cry come before you.

God of abundance, whose Son Jesus Christ is the Way, the Bread of Life, the True Vine, and who gives Living Water, we pray for those experiencing poverty, hunger, and the collapse of their communities: where political posturing and lack of funds threaten infrastructure and public safety; where drought, flooding, climate change, greed, and disregard for the environment inhibit food production and distribution; where lack of education, medical care, sanitation, and clean water allow ignorance and
disease to flourish.

Hear our prayer, O Lord,
And let our cry come before you.

God of our ancestors in faith, who promised that through Abraham and Sarah all the peoples of the world would be blessed, we pray for those regions: where attacks and counter-attacks are mounted in the name of religion; where violence has replaced peaceful coexistence; where cooperation and understanding have been replaced by fear and zenophobia.

Hear our prayer, O Lord,
And let our cry come before you. 

God of love, whose Son Jesus Christ welcomed the outcast and marginalized, we pray for ethnic, sexual, religious, and racial minorities: whose governments fail to protect or seek to punish them;
whose families and friends ostracize them; whose lives are constrained by threats of persecution and physical harm.

Hear our prayer, O Lord,
And let our cry come before you.

God of all, we pray for Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, neighborhoods in Chicago and other American cities, Egypt, Jerusalem, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, South Sudan, Syria,  Uganda, Ukraine, Venezuela

Hear our prayer, O Lord,
And let our cry come before you.

(The Presider may add a concluding collect)