03 Jun It’s Been a Year, God
Litany from the May 25, 2021
National Capital Presbytery Worship Service
Adapted from The Well Preaching Group
It’s been a year, God.
Maybe not for you, but that’s a long time for us to go without a lifeline.
Because we trust your love above all else,
we take a moment to name our reality.
Some of us have suffered painful losses.
We’ve grieved and run and cried and screamed.
We have raised our fists to you in lament
and sometimes we wonder if you have heard.
MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY?
We have navigated call processes via Zoom,
discerned the work of your Spirit from our dining room tables,
and wondered every day what kinds of faith communities
will emerge from a time we are so tired of calling “unprecedented.”
MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY?
We became televangelists overnight,
preaching to our screens
and feeling disconnected from your people.
MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY?
We have lost a sense of routine
and sometimes have no idea what day it is.
We have felt cut off and alone.
MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY?
We’ve made Too. Many. Decisions.
And not been sure that any of them are right.
We keep trying to do our best,
but so often it feels like it is not enough.
Which means that we have been tempted to believe the lie
that we are not enough.
MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY?
Some of us were shamed for our failures
at precisely the time when we most needed assurances of your grace.
We’ve lost our moorings and energy.
We’ve drunk too much wine and had too little confidence.
MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY?
We have been critiqued for everything under the sun:
Too prophetic or not enough,
Too well dressed or not enough
Too flexible or not enough
Too sensitive or not enough.
MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY?
We’ve stretched, and adapted, and worked while tired
to provide steady leadership in our day-jobs
and to keep the wheels on at home…
and now, weary as we are, we are asked to summon fresh energy for the “restart.”
MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY?
And yet we have seen your grace knock us over in countless ways:
the friend who calls at just the right time,
the family time we didn’t realize we were missing
and the unexpected relationships
that might even feel a little bit like resurrection.
AND GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.
We’ve laughed at these new things called “worship bloopers,”
having said or heard, “you are muted,” so many times,
praying that the technology angels remain on our side.
AND GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.
We’ve gone hiking or bike riding at 8am on a Sunday morning.
We’ve tried out new recipes and retreated to comfort food.
We’ve gotten more sleep and not enough sleep.
AND GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.
We’ve had break-through moments in both therapy and in prayer.
We’ve uncovered painful memories and learned
that we are stronger than the worst this world can throw at us.
AND GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.
We’ve witnessed and weathered challenges to our nation’s democracy
and the center, though shaky, has held.
We’ve re-committed to the hard work of prophecy and peace-making.
AND GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.
We’ve come face to face with the Church’s imperfections.
We’ve learned that so many of our mentors and colleagues
have all kinds of failings.
We’ve been dumbstruck and disappointed
and yet we have still kept faith
that this earthen vessel of a Church is Spirit-led.
AND GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.
We believe where we cannot see.
We trust, in part, because of the faith we see reflected in one another.
We hope – not because the future depends on us,
but because we are participants in the story of a God
who ultimately brings wholeness…and justice…and completion.
AND GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD. INDEED, VERY, VERY GOOD.
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