My Prayer During This Election Season

³“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Holy One, this election season my spirit has been hurting. There is so much anger, vitriol, hatred. My spirit longs for your presence and waits for your hope for this world to be seen and become real for us.

⁴“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Holy One, we have been mourning a lot lately. We are mourning what feels like the loss of our culture and country. We are mourning that what was will not be again. Comfort us in our loss.

⁵“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Holy One, you tell us the meek are blessed. The meek, the humble, the timid, the gentle, the modest, the quiet. With all the noise and voices filling our heads we long for the gentle, the quiet, the humble. Help us to let go of the noise and drama.

 ⁶“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Holy One, there have been cries this year from people who hunger and thirst for people to act morally, to act justly, to be in right relationship with you. We have heard the cries of those seeking accountability for acts of violence against women, against transgendered people, against black lives, against police officers. Hear our cries for justice and help us to be filled with you Spirit.

⁷“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Holy one, you have taught us forgiveness is part of what is means to follow you and yet it is so hard. It is hard to let go of resentment, anger. We can hold on tight and every action that happens to us just confirms our anger. Yet with you is mercy, with you is forgiveness.

⁸“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Holy One, you bless purity. I wonder what that means this election cycle. Does it mean separating ourselves into our own little camps where we only hear and see what conforms to our world view. We know this isn’t the purity you seek. You want us to open our hearts to you, to see you, to experience you and show that in our action. Help us to return to you and renew our hearts.

⁹“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Holy One, we hear a lot of talk about war and rumors of war. Holy One show us how to seek peace in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Iraq. May we be called children of God as we struggle for and work for peace,

¹⁰“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Holy One, persecuted, reviled we can all name them – Mexicans, Rednecks, Blacks, Uneducated, Women, Deplorables, Radical Islamic Terrorists, Nasty, Miss Piggy, White Men. The list of those reviled goes too long, contains to many. We are feeling persecuted, reviled by one side or the other. We have forgotten you and how you said we are all created in your image, we are your beloved, our names are written on the palms of your hand.

Holy One, remind us again that we can become blessed. Take this season, a season like all seasons that will pass and fade away, take this season create in us the opportunity to be a blessing to others and to receive a blessing from you. Amen.