Bombarded by noise!

A prayer for those flooded by too much information!

In a world so wired and interconnected,

 our anxious hearts are pummelled

by an endless barrage of troubling news. 

We are daily aware of more grief, O Lord, 

than we can rightly consider, 

of more suffering and scandal than we can respond to, of more 

hostility, hatred, horror, and injustice 

than we can engage with compassion.

But you, O Jesus, are not disquieted 

by such news of cruelty and terror and war. 

You are neither anxious nor overwhelmed. 

You carried the full weight of the suffering 

of a broken world when you hung upon 

the cross, and you carry it still. 

When the cacophony of universal distress 

unsettles us, remind us that we are but small 

and finite creatures, never designed to carry 

the vast abstractions of great burdens, 

for our arms are too short and our strength

is too small. Justice and mercy, healing and

redemption, are your great labours.

And yes, it is your good pleasure to accomplish 

such works through your people,

but you have never asked any one of us 

to undertake more than your grace 

will enable us to fulfil.

Guard us then from shutting down our empathy 

or walling off our hearts because of the glut of 

unactionable misery that floods our awareness. 

You have many children in many places 

around this globe. Move each of our hearts 

to compassionately respond to those needs 

that intersect our actual lives, that in all places 

your body might be actively addressing

the pain and brokenness of this world,

each of us liberated and empowered by 

your Spirit to fulfil the small part 

of your redemptive work assigned to us.

Give us discernment

in the face of troubling news reports. 

Give us discernment  

to know when to pray, 

when to speak out, 

when to act, 

and when to simply 

shut off our screens  

and our devices,  

and to sit quietly in your presence,

casting the burdens of this world 

upon the strong shoulders 

of the one who alone 

is able to bear them up.

Amen.

A LITURGY FOR THOSE FLOODED BY TOO MUCH INFORMATION
COPYRIGHT © 2017 DOUGLAS MCKELVEY