Lament for this week

 I grieve for the many in this world, in my world, who are suffering with so many wounds, hurts and slights—for the lonely, for the unchosen, for the hungry and cold, for the disillusioned, for the betrayed.
 
I grieve for the deep-rooted fear, and hate and cruelty that are so public, so persistent, so pernicious, and I wonder how it gets so deeply hardwired in a person, in a culture and I pray that it be taken away.
 
I grieve for the persons so uprooted, displaced and undone by war, by lies, by collapse, by disease. 
 
I grieve for the uneven allocation of resources in this world, where so few have so much, and so many have so little; I lament my participation in systems that perpetuate this inequity. 
 
I grieve for the pain that persists—in body, in mind, in soul, in relationships and lament the diminishment of spirit that accompanies that pain.
 
I lament the sins of ancestors–my own and others–who have perpetuated racism, sexism, elitism, exceptionalism, and all other forms of exclusion, dehumanization and oppression, and I pray that I will call out, repent, change my own attitude and behaviors to be more Christlike, healing, inclusive, compassionate and far-reaching.
 
As I write and pray, I realize that this prayer could go on without end. Walter Brueggemann calls me to what he calls ‘this prophetic task” to counter our denial and to acknowledge our real losses, both for our connection to God’s world, and to clear the way for Hope to come again.

Grace and peace, 

Anita Sorenson

Pastor for Spiritual Formation