Here’s a confessional prayer for peace based on the parables of Jesus. It was written by Katherine Hawker.
As sabers rattle in lands both close and distant
we confess that we are in pain,
fear has taken root in the souls of our being.
Even as we turn to the parables ,
familiar stories that we thought we loved,
we find troubling stories offering ever more questions .
Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy,
have mercy upon us.
We are loathe to take account of the many ways
in which we unwittingly profit
from the machinery of war and greed.
Still we read the parables of Jesus
which fly in the face of social convention
offending those who dare to listen.
Christ have mercy,
Christ have mercy,
have mercy upon us.
Believing that we are insignificant,
and at the same time fearful that we might become so,
we are timid to use our voices to speak truth to a world of war.
Now the parables of Jesus offer a new vision;
now the servants dine and the masters serve,
now the last becomes and the first becomes last.
Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy,
have mercy upon us.
Hear the good news of the Story
that no sheep is unworthy of rescue,
no coin too small to be missed.
Hear the good news
that love is stronger than hate
and that this power is alive within you
now and forever.
Amen.
—based upon Jesus’ parables. Copyright Katherine Hawker, 2002. Posted on her website, Liturgy Outside the Box.
For more worship resources about peace, click on Peace Sunday resources in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page.
For other resources related to confession, click on Confession or words of assurance in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page, or see this Confession & Assurance index.
