World News in Prayer for March 12, 2015
For God so loved the world…
Gracious and holy one, God of all creation, God of all people everywhere,
it is so easy, as we journey through this season of Lent, to get lost in the wilderness of pain and sorrow we see in the world around us. Our sight scans across the globe and we readily fixate on the ugliness: the expressions of hatred and prejudice, the violence of wars, the brokenness of relationships at the personal and national and global levels. Our gaze locks on Hungary, Greece, India, Israel, Iraq, the United States, Syria, Somalia, Sierra Leone-– all places in which the darkness has taken hold, places in which the light of truth and justice seems but a flickering candle threatened by the winds of hopelessness.
And yet, the words of John’s Gospel remind us that you look at us and our world always with eyes of love.
For God so loved the world…
And so, God of love and justice and truth, God of hope and beauty and creativity, as
we lift our gaze to the reality of your love enacted on the cross of the Christ, we hear your call to look around us with the light of wonder in our eyes to behold the goodness which is abounding in our world, the goodness which your love will not let remain in darkness, but which you call into the light.
Looking with newly-opened eyes, we see and rejoice in:
- The rescue of Baby Lilly in Utah in the United States, found after fourteen hours in a wrecked automobile in the river, alive in spite of the death of her mother.
- The daring of Rima Karaki, a TV presenter in Lebanon, in ending an interview with Islamist Sheikh, Hani Sibai, after he spoke to her disrespectfully and demeaningly, even after she had donned a veil out of respect for him.
- The condemnation by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights of the murders of albino citizens in Malawi, Tanzania.
- The green toilet being developed by Oxfam and the University of the West of England and being tested in Britain which uses urine to generate electricity, so it can be used in refugee camps to provide both sanitation and light.
- The nation of Brazil opening their doors to nearly 2,000 refugees of the war in Syria.
- The overwhelming response to the documentary, India’s Daughter, the story of the rape and murder of medical student, Jyoti Singh, by five young men, which is changing opinions about sexual violence against women in India and throughout the world.
And so, the words of John remind us that you look at us and our world always with eyes of love.
For God so loved the world…
Now, may the peace of the Lord Christ go with you; may God guide you through the wilderness and protect you through the storm; may God bring you home rejoicing at the wonders you have seen and experienced and known, today and every day as you stand in the light of God’s love. Amen.
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