Older than the morning stars 

    that twinkled in the blackness of night’s first birth,

    the rotation of the axis of time,

    bring us into the freshness of your mercy 

    and the newness of your presence.

We come to you today with heartfelt gratitude,

    not with mixing Judas paint with Judas praise

    in order to cover our hypocrisy.

Some of us come to you with triumph over tragedy.

Others of us come with enduring pain

    suffering from shameful defeat

    in an inescapable battle of life.

Some of us feel like going on

    and others of us feel like giving up.

But to you we come just as we are.

Whether we are winners or losers,

    we know that you love us one and all.

Greatest of the Greatest,

    you know just how much we can bear.

We all come to commune with you:

 

    The tireless champion;

    The tired loser;

    The retired forgotten ones;

    We all come to be consistently corrected

        and confronted by you.

    We come counting our lost.

    We come as citizens of cities controlled by crime.

    We come chilled by the cold of cowardice.

    Great God Almighty:

    Commune with us conscience clean.

    Caress us with the cradle of compassion.

    Consecrate us with courageous convictions.

    Control us with Christlike concerns.

    Great Physician Powerful:

    Pardon us with the conscience of peace.

    Place us in paths of productivity.

 

Practice the perfection of healing 

    upon those who are physically, emotionally, or spiritually sick.

This is our humble plea, 

    we present in the precious Name of the prince of peace, 

    Jesus Christ, our priceless priest. Amen.

 

J. Alfred Smith, Sr, 1931-2025, American pastor in Oakland, California

 

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For the Lord your God is living among you.
    He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
    With his love, he will calm all your fears.
    He will rejoice over you with joyful songs