THE WORLD IS NOT AS IT SHOULD BE. WE ARE NOT AS WE COULD BE.

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Father in Heaven,
The world is not as it should be.
We are not as we could be.
Have mercy on us. 

Darkness hovers over our homes.
Despair has displaced hope.
We listen to lies and illusions
That water our fears and harvest hate. 

The world is not as it should be.
We are not as we could be.
Have mercy on us. 

Sin has shaped our city.
Our neighbors are isolated
Without friends, without shelter, without food.
Our neighborhoods are divided
With the darkness of inequality and disparity. 

The world is not as it should be.
We are not as we could be,
Have mercy on us. 

Violence has stained our city’s story.
Places of light now marked with memories of death.
Evil has ended precious lives
In our schools and streets,
In our theatres and groceries
In our nightclubs and churches.  

The world is not as it should be.
We are not as we could be.
Have mercy on us. 

We lament the darkness and long for Your light.

May your mercy bring healing.
May your grace make us whole.
And may your love bring us at the last
To our eternal home.

Jared Ray Mackey
Lent 2023