There Is A Balm In Gilead

 

There Is a Balm in Gilead

 

Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Genesis 37:25

For many, the lyrics of the Negro spiritual, “There Is a Balm in Gilead” cannot be read without hearing the soulful tune sung:

There is a balm in Gilead
to make the wounded whole;
there is a balm in Gilead
to heal the sin-sick soul.

Sometimes I feel discouraged,
and think my work’s in vain,
but then the Holy Spirit
revives my soul again.

If you can’t preach like Peter,
if you can’t pray like Paul,
just tell the love of Jesus
and say he died for all.

 

Creator God,

Our hearts are weary. We pray daily for peace and there is no peace. We seek justice for George Floyd and all those victimized by violence at the hands of the state. We lament the violent training approaches taken by police academies. We lament a system of looking another way. Forgive us when we too have looked the other way. Focus our vision on the need for a just peace and an end to systemic violence and racism.

We pray for Community of Christ Pastor Sergio Juarez who is on the streets of Los Angeles carrying a cross and kneeling in prayer with those who seek change and the police who are there to protect the community.

We pray for Rev. Gina Gerbasi who organized clergy and laypeople in support of George Floyd and brought water and eye wash to St. John’s Episcopal Lafayette Square and was driven off of church property by force to make way for the powerful who “claiming to represent Christ … seek to divide people and nations to accomplish their destructive aims.”

We pray for those mourning the loss of the more than 2.5 million souls lost to COVID-19 worldwide, may all be comforted in their grief.

Help us to find the courage and the strength to shape our response Lord. Guide us in becoming a blessing to each person whose lives we touch. Forgive us our reticence, guide us in the way of peace, we pray in the name of Jesus.

Amen

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