Sometimes the only prayers we can lift up to God are in our tears. I am deeply saddened by the attacks in Boston today. I pray that the loving arms of God be upon all the runners, spectators, friends and families, emergency personnel, as well as the attackers.
Jesus has called us to pray for our enemies, and hopefully your faith has called to do the same. It ain't easy though.
Hopefully, we can look with compassion and understanding upon this tragic incident of violence and realize what underlies violence. Violence is a reality and will always be present. We have all committed acts of violence, whether they be physical, emotional or verbal.
We have not always loved our neighbor as our self, as we shunned outcasts, the mentally ill and the hurting.
There are no easy answers or solutions to violence. But we must all recognize our accountability in participating in a culture that stigmatizes some of its most vulnerable citizens particularly the vulnerable and the outcasts.
Those who are told that they don't belong,
Those who are hated and abandoned by their own family,
Those who are excluded from places of worship,
Those who have not been invited to share in community,
Those who have been unable to get the care and love they need in the midst of mental illness,
For these people I pray, for these people I hope that we will walk beside, just as Jesus does.
I don't know who committed these horrible acts of violence. But I pray that we remained committed to love, to family, to community and to peace, and to each other. This is where God is.
"Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way" --Martin Luther King Jr.
God, we need your peace. God, we need your compassion. God, we need the assurance of your Spirit. God, we need your hope.
Ryan Bradney
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