the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Holy God,

For those times
when we hear
the ridicule,
the jeers,
the insults,
and see the looks
of pain and loneliness,
yet stand in uncomfortable silence,
and do nothing,

Lord have mercy.

And for those times
when we strike back
at those who hurt us,
and start another
cycle of violence
that has no end in sight,

Christ have mercy.

The powerful rested
easy on their thrones,
when the things of God
were bought and sold
on the marketplace;
for the temple
was their palace,
and its religion
was their power.

Lord Jesus,
storm into our lives
as you did the temple;
may the chains be broken,
the tables turned,
and our hearts set free.

Amen