A Blessing for the First Sunday in Advent

 

a blessing for hope

(for the first Sunday of advent)

God, these are darkening days,

with little hope in sight.

Help us in our fear and exhaustion.

Anchor us in hope.

Blessed are we with eyes open

to see the accumulated

suffering of danger,

sickness, and loneliness,

the injustice of racial oppression,

the unimpeded greed and misuse

of power, violence, intimidation,

and use of dominance for its own sake,

the mockery of truth,

and disdain for weakness or vulnerability

—and worse, the seeming powerlessness

of anyone trying to stop it.

Blessed are we who ask:

Where are you, God?

And where are Your people

—the smart and sensible ones

who fight for good and

have the power to make it stick?

Blessed are we who cry out:

Oh God, why does the bad

always seem to win?

When will good prevail?

We know you are good,

but we see so little goodness.

God, show me your heart.

How you seek out the broken,

lift us on your shoulders,

and carry us home—

no matter how weak we’ve become.

God, seek us out, and find us,

we your tired people,

and lead us out to where hope lies

where your kingdom will come

and your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Fill me with your courage.

Calm me with your love.

Fortify me with your hope.

P.S. Open your hands

as you release your prayers.

Then take hold of hope.

As protest.

-- Kate Bowler