Here’s
a prayer of lament and longing at the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. It comes from the jonnybaker blog (see below for link).
Prayer at the Table
On
the night before Jesus died,
he
gathered with his friends to have supper.
Over
the meal they shared stories of lament and longing.
They told stories of Lament for a world of injustice and powerlessness
They told stories of Lament for a world of injustice and powerlessness
that
before they met Jesus they hadn’t even noticed.
Lament for the empires of the age
Lament for the empires of the age
that
were bent on their own continued existence,
but
no longer had any reason to exist.
Lament over the people who were silenced.
Lament over the people who were blind to the possibility
that
the world could be anything other than what it was.
They told stories of Longing that the new world they’d glimpsed
They told stories of Longing that the new world they’d glimpsed
might
become the dominant reality;
Longing that the voiceless would be given a voice.
Longing that the powerful would be freed from their addiction.
Longing for the imagination to escape the numbing quality
Longing that the voiceless would be given a voice.
Longing that the powerful would be freed from their addiction.
Longing for the imagination to escape the numbing quality
of
the empires that tell you that this world is all there is.
The meal moved towards its conclusion,
The meal moved towards its conclusion,
and
Jesus called for bread and wine.
He
took the bread, broke it, gave thanks and said:
this
is my body, broken for you.
Do
this to remember me.
He took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said:
He took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said:
this
is my blood of the new covenant,
which
is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.
Father God, we pray that you will send your Spirit on us,
Father God, we pray that you will send your Spirit on us,
that
this bread and wine may be for us the body and blood of Christ.
May the bread be food for the journey
May the bread be food for the journey
as
we seek to see the new reality of God’s kingdom in the world.
May the wine be a sign that we are no longer shackled to the old order.
May the wine be a sign that we are no longer shackled to the old order.
We
are no longer in debt to the empire
whose
power over us Christ has broken.
May these tables be places where our hopes are forged.
May this community gathered here be a reminder that we are not alone.
May these tables be places where our hopes are forged.
May this community gathered here be a reminder that we are not alone.
That
throughout our city there are people
who
are working to throw off the old
and
seek the new life of Christ
as
they bring peace and justice to the places where they walk.
~
written by Dean, and posted on Johnny
Baker blog. http://jonnybaker.blogs.com/jonnybaker/2012/07/wake-up.html
