Luke 12: 41-48 "Justice is coming"
A prayer, in the form of a collect, based on a bible reading for today
A collect based on Luke 12: 41-48
Christ, we are your body, your hands, your feet, and your eyes on this earth.
When you encountered injustice you demanded of those with privilege “Bring my justice and my healing”.
But they didn’t, and still we don’t. We turn our backs and shut our eyes. Lord have mercy.
Instead it is the afflicted and the forgotten who rise up, live as Christ to one another, and set their feet in a broad place.
Christ have mercy. Amen
The image accompanying the prayer today is of Iqbal Masih, a child born to an impoverished Catholic family in Pakistan. He was sold into bonded labour at the age of 5 but eventually escaped. He campaigned against bonded labour, freeing over 3000 workers, before being killed at the age of 12. The image is one of many that form “The Dancing Icons” at St. Gregory of Nyssa’s church.
The phrase “set their feet in a broad place” comes from today’s Psalm 31. The opening line is from the St. Teresa of Avila poem “Christ has no body but yours”.
It is the first of my daily prayers, from memory, that is asking for forgiveness. In this instance for the misuse of economic, political, cultural, and social power. It is written from that perspective which I am aware may not be relevant to all readers today.
With peace and best wishes, Steve