Ek lees graag vandag vir julle ’n gebed van die Corrymeela gemeenskap in Ierland. Dit is ’n groep gelowiges wat saam dink oor hoe rekonsiliasie, vrede en dialoog binne gemeenskappe, wat verskil van mekaar, kan uitspeel. Mag jy vandag hierdie woorde ontvang. Miskien wil jy dan aan die einde, ’n paar oomblikke in stilte sit en vir God vra om ook vir jou bewus te maak van hoe God hierdie week op onopmerklike wyses by jou teenwoordig was. Mag dit dan vir jou ’n troos wees en mag dit vir jou die vrede gee waarna jy opsoek is.
God of the good news that spreads faster than fear,
God of the courage that comes from the heart:
Be with us as anxieties rise
and with us as uncertainty grows.
Be with us when children ask difficult questions,
And with us when parents seem farther away.
Remind us that to be a community does not always mean
to be physically present beside those we know well.
It also can mean being spiritually present
with those who feel very alone;
and that you as our God, the God made flesh,
are also the God who calls us from the tumult
and tells us to be still
and know
that you are God
with us.
Amen