Please pray with me the
words of the hymn: “This is my song”:
This
is my song, O God of all the nations,
a
song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This
is my home, the country where my heart is;
here
are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;
But
other hearts, in other lands are beating with hopes and dreams
as
true and high as mine.
A few reasons why I find
this song particularly powerful and poignant today, July 4th. First, we worship God who is the Creator of
all places and people. While we call the
United States, “Our homeland,” we recognize that our citizenship is in God’s
realm that does not have human borders or boundaries. We worship God who crafts and creates all
people, all places in God’s image. We can honor our place and at the same
time notice that God does not rate or rank countries. On this 4th of July, we are
invited to hold the beautiful, creative tension.
Second, we pray for
peace. We live in a divided country,
state, and community. We are more and
more aware of how hostile we are and how hatred festers. We pray for peace ~ a healing and wellness ~
for all human hearts. We pray for peace
with our brothers and sisters in Ukraine, in Oslo, in Akron, OH, in Uvalde, and
Buffalo, in rain forests being destroyed and earth’s resources depleted. Peace ~ wellness and wholeness ~ is what we
seek and what will restore right relationship with God, each other, and the
earth. Peace is coming to our senses and
turning/returning to God who is working to restore ruptured relationships that
exist.
Even as we are connected
to the holiness and wholeness of life, we live in a particular place and
time. Given the reality, we have hopes
and dreams and seek God’s guidance for where we call “home”. We recognize our solidarity with others. We pray for those whose hopes and aims and
dreams go in the opposite direction. We
pray for those who we fear or frustrate us.
O, hear, our song and
heartfelt, honest prayer, God of all people and places, on this day. Let this song guide our lives and living
every day this week.
Amen.
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