Burdens Down
Sometimes tragedies trickle and sometimes they flow like a firehose. From late August through Early October 2017, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria, earthquakes in Mexico, and a mass shooting in Las Vegas filled our public consciousness and burdened us. In both my church and personal life I experienced these tragic events having a cumulative and withering effect. The prayer below was written to be used in congregational worship to help people “lay their burdens down.” In conjunction with the prayer, you may choose to use this ritual action: on burden, the leader and congregation raises hands to chest, and on lay our burdens down, the leader and congregation lower their arms. This action is repeated 3 times.
This prayer may easily be adapted to fit a variety of settings and circumstances.
God, your people are burdened by too much:
too much wind, too much water, too much destruction;
there is too much that is broken, wounded, and out of place, and it is weighty upon us.
And so we pray, God: help us to lay our burdens down.
God, your people are burdened by too many:
too many bullets, too many harmed, too many barriers to real change;
when it comes to guns and gun violence, there are too many mouths and not enough ears, and it is weighty upon us.
And so we pray, God: help us to lay our burdens down.
God, your people are burdened by too little:
too little hope, too little trust, too little faith;
in the face of too much and too many, we have too little in our cups, and it is weighty upon us.
And so we pray, God: help us to lay our burdens down.
As we lay our burdens down, God, we pray that you will grant us healing enough for today, and courage for the work that lies ahead for us, and for too many, who are hurting and vulnerable today. AMEN.
© Rev. Kevin Goldenbogen, 2017
