A FINE STUDENT PRAYER

Actions and Inactions, Marsh Chapel, September 10, 2017

Creator of the Universe,

It is a miracle. It is a miracle to be alive, and well.

We pray that we understand this in the wake of natural disaster and destruction. We pray for the victims of the earthquake in Mexico. We pray for those in the gulf and in the tropics who are recovering from hurricane Irma and hurricane Harvey. We pray for those preparing for Irma and Jose.

We pray that we see the miracle that it is to be alive, as collections of atoms forged in stars that over many years travelled through different cosmic events, until settling upon our mote of dust, where the remnants of dead stars became organic molecules, and then finally, life.

 We pray that we see the sacredness in what we are: momentary insignificant breaths of starry vapor, here for moments and then gone in cosmic timescales.

We pray that we see that, we, these brief beings, these brief breaths, can, through our actions, change the very nature and climate of the mote of dust we live on.

We pray that in the midst of our changing climate, we would see the significance in our action, or inaction.

We pray that, through the Ground of Being, we may see that inaction is action, and that all actions are significant.

We pray that You would move us, as beings grounded in You, to hear Your voice, and understand the gravity of our actions as beings, and of its impact on Nature, on Your creation.

And in it all, we pray that our lives reflect this understanding of significance, and that we hear Your calling, and move to the aid of our planet. We pray for researchers, for policy makers, and for leaders. We pray for every being to see where they have an impact, for we all live on this mote of dust together.

We pray for the leadership around the world, that bridges would be built and walls lowered. We pray that we see not only the significance of our lives, but also the significance of the lives of others.

For it is the One who took on insignificance to show significance that taught us that our actions done to other beings are actions done to You.

And if inaction is action, then we pray that our hearts would break for what breaks Your heart.

We pray for hope in the midst of these tensions, that we see the hope, and that we strive to live out as the hands and feet of the One who took on insignificance to show significance, and taught us what it meant to be,

                  And it is in the power of this One’s name, Jesus the Christ, that we pray,

Amen.

© Nickholas Leopoldo Rodriguez, September 2017