God of love and justice, as we commemorate the
Palestinian Nakba (May 15) this week, our hearts break with the grief of 65
years of different forms of injustice and suffering in Palestine. Though our
hearts break, please do not let our hope die. Keep our courage and resilience
strong, and renew within the Palestinian people the will and the hope for
strategic peaceful resistance to on-going abuses. Lord, we cry out that the
Nakba must never happen again, but also that the continuing Nakba of
Palestinian dispossession and suffering must end! We pray for all Palestinians
at home and abroad, especially refugees driven from their homes in 1948, many
of whom still long to return to their rightful homes. How long, O Lord, will
this continue? Lord, in your mercy…
Lord, as we remember these things, give us
the grace and courage to tell our stories in truth and love. We thank you for
the beautiful new documentary film “The Stones Cry Out,” which tells the story
of Palestinian Christians in an insightful and peace-building way. We pray for
the film-launch to be hosted by Sabeel this Friday, May 17, at 5:30 p.m. at the
Notre Dame Auditorium in Jerusalem, and for the subsequent discussion with His
Beatitude Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah and film director Yasmine Perni. We
also thank you for this past Monday’s film-launch in Nazareth and for
Wednesday’s Interfaith Study Day in Bir Zeit. We pray also for a vibrant Sabeel
Nazareth Youth meeting this Thursday as they discuss faith and resurrection.
Lord, in your mercy…
Amidst difficulties, we are so grateful for
the work of international friends dedicated to building a movement of solidarity
and advocacy for the Palestinian people. We thank you for those working to
raise awareness of the events of the Nakba, for people like the well-respected Stephen
Hawking who stand against injustice only to face retaliation in the form of accusations
and pressure, and for people contributing to the momentum of the work for
justice everywhere. Lord, in your mercy…
On a global scale, we see all kinds of
injustice still prevailing around the world. News filters in from abroad of the
factory collapse in Bangladesh that killed 1,127 people and injured many more.
God may we not shield our eyes from this horrific tragedy caused by poor
working conditions and the exploitative use of cheap labor. In a globalized
world, keep us mindful of our own potential complicity in these crimes. Please
bring comfort to grieving families, healing to traumatized victims, and radical
change to this corrupt system. Lord, in your mercy…
Finally, we pray alongside the World Council
of Churches for the countries of Kenya and Tanzania. Lord, in your mercy…
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