Litany for Binding

This was written for a prayer service in Anchorage, Alaska in response to a significant rise in reported homicides and other personal crimes. It has a partner in the Litany for Loosing.

Holy God of all creation, we know that violent death and mindless destruction do not come from you. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we bind and reject these things.

They have no place here.

God of love and light, revenge and aggressive retribution are not tasks you have given to us at any time. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we bind and reject these things.

They have no place here.

God of peace and hope, glorifying violence and denigrating other humans violate every commandment you have given. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we bind and reject these things.

They have no place here.

God of consolation and mercy, desecration of creation and division between people are not possible in the true way of Christ Jesus. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we bind and reject these things.

They have no place here.

God of justice and peace, lawlessness and a breakdown of communities are in direct violation of how you have taught us to live. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we bind and reject these things.

They have no place here.

God of the living Word, slurs, insults, curses, and threats sow seeds of dissension that are not in your plan for us, this city, or any part of your beloved creation. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we bind and reject these things.

They have no place here.

Holy Lord, holy and mighty is your name. All glory, praise, and honor go to you. We trust and believe that your word is true. In binding and rejecting all that is not of you, we believe with our whole hearts that we are aligning ourselves with your will for healing, unity, peace, and reconciliation in Anchorage. We ask that you would continue in your powerful work and word and that we would be privileged to alongside you here in the City of Lights. We ask you all this in Jesus’ holy name… [and God’s children said]… Amen.

Who Can Say?

Our adult education class at church is studying Amos. I like it because it feels like sneaking a peek a Jesus' preaching notes.

Of course, there are some very uncomfortable moments. Amos comes down hard on those who are focused on the details of religiosity, but ignore the true work of relationship with and response to God. The prophet cries out against those who use others as means to an end, particularly when the end is a lush life, a sexual adventure, a perversion of justice, or simply a picnic with the spoils of oppression.

Donald E. Gowan says we must be careful about how we apply Amos's words in a modern context:

“Have we the right (or the wisdom and insight) to make a direct application of Amos’s message to any contemporary nation or culture? With injustice still rampant, there is a strong temptation for us to do that, but that should be done with caution… We cannot make direct applications of the prophetic message in order to predict our future, but we can and should use it to diagnose the health of our society… To know whether a society is healthy, do not look at the wealthy homes or the magnificent sanctuaries, but look at the state of the poor and needy. If the words that go with them are Amos’s words- tumult, oppression, violence- then there is no health in that society, and where there is not health, death cannot be far away.” New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, Vol. VII

So we cannot assume, without clear spiritual revelation, that we will suffer in exile as did Israel. We can, however, make an assessment about our culture's habits and our own.

That's where Amos leaves off preaching and takes up meddlin', as they say.

Election Day Prayer: Recessional

Recessional

God of our fathers, known of old,   

   Lord of our far-flung battle-line,   

Beneath whose awful Hand we hold

   Dominion over palm and pine—

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,   

Lest we forget—lest we forget!

The tumult and the shouting dies;

   The Captains and the Kings depart:   

Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,

   An humble and a contrite heart.

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,   

Lest we forget—lest we forget!

Far-called, our navies melt away;

   On dune and headland sinks the fire:   

Lo, all our pomp of yesterday

   Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!   

Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,   

Lest we forget—lest we forget!

If, drunk with sight of power, we loose   

   Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe,   

Such boastings as the Gentiles use,

   Or lesser breeds without the Law—

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,

Lest we forget—lest we forget!

For heathen heart that puts her trust   

   In reeking tube and iron shard,

All valiant dust that builds on dust,

   And guarding, calls not Thee to guard,   

For frantic boast and foolish word—

Thy mercy on Thy People, Lord!

Rudyard Kipling, 1897

Source: A Choice of Kipling's Verse (1943)