Inspired by Psalm 48
Pentecost 7, Year B
Our God, we come to you in longing.
We have a deep desire for justice:
in our international policies,
in our local politics,
and in our personal relationships.
We long for leaders with vision,
leaders who place common good above political gain,
who look beyond the next election
to a healthier, more sustainable world for generations to come.
Even within your church, our God,
we have often felt let down by leadership
that seems to put numbers above deep and growing relationship with you.
We long for your justice, your reign over all the earth.
But even as we imagine your regal presence amongst us,
we are confronted instead with a small baby;
with a fellow traveller on the way of life,
with a man dying on a cross.
And the truth comes home to us:
in dwelling among us,
you have given us the task of vision and of justice.
Give us the strength and commitment we need
to work towards your reign on earth, as it is in heaven.
Let the joy of your justice flow through us,
in our political choices,
in our questions to our leaders,
in our demands for just relationships beyond our own immediate selfish needs.
May the vision of your just reign
continually lift our eyes and our hearts higher,
so that we may never be satisfied with less than
the beauty of your vision
for all creation.
