A Prayer for Newtown

By The Rev. Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor
United Church of Christ in Canton (MA)
For Sunday, December 16, 2012 ~ Advent III: Joy

God of Advent,

Our ears ring from the shrill of gunshots.
We shudder in paralysis as we hear the screams
of the children and teachers in Newtown, Connecticut
caught in the blaze of senseless violence.
We join our voices with the Psalmist and cry out,
“How long, O Lord?� How long?
When will there be an end to the violence
that riddles the defenseless in our schools?
When will your restorative balm
cleanse the hearts of viscous gunmen?

Today, we reflect upon the joy that the Christ child brings
and the elation that will be ours
when Jesus returns to make all things new.
However, we live in the now and the not yet:
the intersection of history where little makes sense.
It is hard to find joy in the midst of such mammoth anguish,
to focus on glad tidings when tears spill over silent lips.
Maybe there are no words, O God.
Maybe there are only sighs.

Be with us, we pray.
Be with the families of the victims to assuage their torment.
Be with the perpetrators of such violence
to turn their hearts toward you.
And be with this fractured planet, O Lord,
that still lives in the shadow of the cross,
that embraces swords over plowshares.

We ask this, and all things, in the name of your child
whom you yourself loss to the world’s savagery.
We ask this in the name of your Son, our Savior:
the One who was, who is, and who shall come again —
Jesus Christ — the One in whose name
we forever rejoice to pray.

Amen.