A Liturgy from Praying the News
After an Accident
“Now a man was sick—Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha… When Jesus heard it, he said, ‘This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was.”“O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,and you have healed me…You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;you have loosed my sackclothand clothed me with gladness,that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!”“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”
John 11:1–6 (CSB); Psalm 30:2, 11–12 (ESV); 1 Thessalonians 4:13–14 (ESV)
God in Heaven,Why did you stand back in the moment of tragedy?Why did you linger so far away?Darkness and gloom have settled;where is the promised light?Did you stop caring? Were you distracted?Did you run out of power?
To you alone, Our Lord, we cry for help.Heal our hurting, broken world.
Heal those wounded and traumatized,beaten down by the wrongness of the world.Comfort families whose normalcy was suddenly shattered;draw near to those who lost what cannot be restored;steady neighbors unsettled by sorrow.In their souls’ raging storm, draw them into refugeand speak your words of life.Equip local leaders to manage unexpected needs;rebuild failed systems in [the affected community],and rebuild public trustin the infrastructure that supports them.
To you alone, Our Lord, we cry for help.Heal our hurting, broken world.
You alone, O Lord, turn mourning into dancing;you exchange funeral attire for wedding clothes;you swap grief for glory.So we will not grieve as others who have no hope;we will continually come to the Father whosecompassionand knowledgeand powerfar outweighs our own,and whose presence clings tightly in heaviest grief.
You alone,God of Unsearchable Judgments and Inscrutable Ways,we will worship.Amen.
Amen
Praying the News
Liturgies for reading the headlines.
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