Two Sides

  

snow gently falling

no noise in this moment

creation surrounds me

my home is warm

snow gently falling

sirens humming in my ears

tanks beginning to surround me

is my home safe?

freedom to complain about anything

food to fill my belly

my loved ones safe 

freedom today is uncertain

food supplies begin to shorten

are my loved ones safe?

we are a human family

respect for each person

are we a human family?

is there respect for all people?

my world is at peace.

is the world at peace?

Isn’t it amazing how far removed we can be from the reality of our shared common home with our sisters and brothers of the human family? 

As our world seems to teeter on edge with new chaotic situations of war emerging, we must remember that greater than the power of war is the power of needing and respecting each other. We are called to stand in solidarity with those who face the scourge of war again: the families terrified, women and children, the poor caught in the crossfire, the homeless, the refugee, the fleeing, the hungry, the disabled, and the elderly. These are not just people over there this is someone’s family, home, church, livelihood, life. Through the choices we make in our everyday lives, prayers offered, reaching out to those who are affected, keeping vigil, and discovering about one another we learn to look into the face of another, hear their voice, and come to know them as sisters and brothers. What our world needs now is not more divisions and more illusions of freedom, what our world needs now is to stand up together person to person as a family. It can and must begin with you and with me. Lord, make me an instrument of your peace…


Let us pray:
O God, in you, is our peace and so we pray:

Hear us, O God.

In these times of global violence and war, we pray:
For all peacekeepers and peacemakers, we pray:
For government leaders to seek peace rather than power, we pray:
For all who are suffering from chaotic situations of international or civil conflict, we pray:
For families and communities caught up in violence and danger, we pray:
For those who mediate peace in situations of war and conflict, we pray:

For the situations in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, and parts of Africa, 

we pray:

For our communities, homes, and hearts to be places of peace, we pray:


Jesus, Prince of Peace,
we pray for our world,
for those who know peace, 
and for those caught up in war.
We pray for our enemies and our friends,
and those who feel caught in the middle.
We pray for the courage to allow our heart 
to be changed from stony to a heart of flesh,
so that we may be vessels of your peace.
Amen.

 

Photo Credits:  Kristina Tripkovic and Sunguk Kim