Saturday 2 June 2007

A prayer in a broken world

by Kim Fabricius

It’s a world of confusion, Lord:
we are muddled in our thinking;
we are mixed in our emotions;
we are inconsistent in our actions.

It’s a world of lies, Lord:
we deceive ourselves about our motives and intentions;
we mislead others with double-speak and spin;
we exploit you as an agent of social control and repression.

It’s a world of greed, Lord:
we worship the idol of the market;
we honour the false prophets of profit;
we reduce people to punters and nations to debt.

It’s a world of violence, Lord:
we deploy the technology of terror to protect our own interests;
we invest our children in the business of bloodshed;
we justify war as first strike, last resort, or final solution.

It’s a world of vengeance, Lord:
we allow the wounds of history to fester;
we refuse the healing of memories;
we betray the living out of mistaken loyalty to the dead.

O Lord,
in this world of confusion, make us a people of clarity;
in this world of lies, make us a people of integrity;
in this world of greed, make us a people of generosity;
in this world of violence, make us a people of peace;
in this world of vengeance, make us a people of mercy:
in the name of Christ: Amen.

9 Comments:

Anonymous said...

I really like this. Before I show it to others in the states, though, take pity on a poor "Yank." Pray tell, what are "punters," as in "we reduce people to punters." It's sounds like a sports term, but then the economic reference escapes me.

Once more "separated by a common language."

Anonymous said...

Hi Michael,

According to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary - that's Oxford, England, not Oxford, Mississippi - a punter (British informal) is "a customer or client" - or, as we might say in a late capitalist culture, a "consumer" - i.e. not someone who kicks the pigskin downfield on fourth down in your own territory!

βασίλης ψύλλης said...

that's a relly true piece of word;
that is, a word coming out of a soft heart.
thank you Kim!

Dustin said...

I really enjoyed reading your words. I hope you don't mind, but I posted them, as well as a link to here, over at my blog.

I must say that Kim has been a wonderful addition to your blog, Ben. Thanks for allowing him the time and space to share.

Anonymous said...

You are very kind, Vassilip and Dustin, thank you (though I don't know about the "soft heart"!). And, of course, Dustin, you - or anyone - can do whatever you like with any of my stuff. Post it - or roast it!

Aric Clark said...

Beautiful prayer Kim.

And the word "punter" is used, at least in Edinburgh, as slang for "idiot" or "regular joe". It just goes to show that there are language divides even within the same nation, let alone across the seas.

βασίλης ψύλλης said...

dear Kim, i'm sorry if "soft heart" troubled you.
it is what in Greek Fathers symbolic world means the allegory of heart as waxy in order to be imprinted with Spirit's participation (cf: 1Pe.3:4).

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the help, folks. Reducing people to consumers I understand--and hate.

Kim, I may have this printed in a near future church bulletin, with proper attribution. Do you mind if I change "punters" to "consumers" for clarity. I may be the only person in our congregation here in Louisville, Kentucky who has ever been to Oxford, England! :-)

Anonymous said...

Hi again Vassilip,

"Soft heart" didn't trouble me, just embarrassed me a little. Its's a great symbol. Efharisto!

And, Michael, your translation is fine by me - and how nice to be included in your bulletin, thanks.

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