A Liturgy of Dissonance in the Times of COVID-19

As a global family physically distant – yet interdependent – Lord, hear our prayer…

We feel the growing dissonance between practicing the social responsibility of distance and the kingdom (kin-dom) value of proximity.

“Stay away to keep us all safe!”

“Please come close, we have no ‘home’ to go back to!”

Which is it? Is social distancing a practice of the privileged or the only antidote to a pandemic? Can we be distant and generous? Is that enough?

There is no easy answer.

God, in our tension and dissonance, hear our prayer.

The walls seem to be closing in on us. The kids, they appear to have taken on God’s character of omnipresence. Pure delight and exhausting overwhelm. New rhythms, prayers and play. Creativity and care. New life!!

Short tempers. Lonely holidays. No end in sight. Can we sustain?

God, in our gratitude and exhaustion, hear our prayer.

As we celebrate necessary governmental financial aid in the coming weeks, we acknowledge the lack of equity. Many who don’t need it will receive it. Many who desperately need it will not.

Things are not as they should be.

For those of us who can, may we have the courage to be generous rather than follow our fears manifesting in a mentality of scarcity and practice of hoarding.

God, in our abundance and our need, hear our prayer.

As the sky returns to blue, the birds sing songs of new life and the sea glistens with hope, we listen to Creation speak…groan.

Healing.

Breath.

Shalom.

Does the path back to a rightly ordered world require a pandemic to remind us who we are and how we are to live? Have mercy on us as we stumble down our path of ignorance and arrogance.

God, in the healing and the failing, hear our prayer.

We feel in our brains and our bodies the anxiety of the unknown. Who will be next and how close will they be to our familial circle? Seamless recovery or tragic end? And the future of our jobs? Our organizations? Our churches? Our neighbors?

And, stillness like never before. Social expectations gone. Nothing to prove. Silence. Connection. Deep breaths. Long mornings. Laughter.

Peace.

God, in our anxiety and our peace, hear our prayer.

Amen.