Prayer for a time of COVID-19
by Rev. Dr. Mery Kolimon
FORGIVE US, MOTHER EARTH
Beloved Mother Earth,
All other creatures,
The Creator has made all things good
All creatures are our brothers and sisters
Living by the Grace of The Creator of life
Blessed by the Earth that gives food each day.
Yet we have hurt Mother Earth.
We have destroyed our brothers and sisters.
With a desire for more and more wealth, more and more prosperity
We have damaged the earth without mercy.
We dump our waste everywhere
The oceans, mountains, fields, and forests
Broken by our actions.
Even the bowels of the earth have been dredged without mercy
For gold, coal, manganese, marble, and other minerals.
Forgive our pride and greed.
Forgive our arrogance and evil ways.
May this plague be an opportunity for us to learn
That our human economy is not everything.
The economy must move with ecology.
Ecology and economy must be balanced for the sake of the oikoumene,
So the Earth can be a home worthy of inhabitance by all creatures.
May we learn with our minds, all of creation is not our enemy
We must organize our lives more wisely
To distance life from extinction
So that we of this generation
May experience the intention of The Creator of Life that is truly good.
Forgive us, Mother Earth,
Forgive us, fellow members of creation.
Please accept us back in the dance of divine life
Where we hug each other as brothers and sisters
Sharing energy with each other for life that is mutual and whole.
Rev. Dr. Mery Kolimon, a well-known theologian, activist, and church leader from Indonesia, offered this prayer.
OHON AMPUN, IBU BUMI
Ibu bumi terkasih
Segala ciptaan yang lain,
Kuman-kuman dan virus sesama ciptaan
Maafkan kami yang telah merendahkanmu
Mengeksploitasi, menyerang, melukai, bahkan ingin menghancurkanmu.
Di wabah COVID-19 di awal tahun ini
Kami belajar
Sang Pencipta membuat semua sungguh sangat baik
Semua makhluk adalah saudara
Hidup dari Anugerah Sang Pencipta kehidupan
Dinafkahi oleh Bumi yg memberi makan setiap hari.
Namun kami telah menyakiti Ibu Pertiwi
Kami menghancurkan saudara-saudara kami.
Hasrat utk makin kaya dan makin makmur
Membuat kami merusak bumi tanpa ampun
Sampah kami buang sembarangan
Laut, gunung, padang, hutan rusak karena perilaku kami.
Bahkan perut bumi kami kuras tanpa ampun
Utk emas, batu bara, dan mineral lainnya.
Ampuni kesombongan dan keserakahan kami.
Ampuni kepongahan dan kejahatan kami.
Biarlah ini wabah ini jadi kesempatan kami belajar
Ekonomi manusia bukan segalanya
Ekonomi harus berjalan dengan Ekologi
Ekologi dan Ekonomi harus seimbang dalam Ekumene
Agar Bumi jadi rumah yg layak didiami semua makhluk.
Kiranya dengan budi kami belajar sesama ciptaan bukan musuh
Kami mesti menata hidup lebih bijak
Agar jauh kehidupan dari kemusnahan
Agar maksud Pencipta itu kehidupan yang sungguh sangat baik itu
Dapat kami alami juga di generasi ini.
Ampuni kami Ibu Bumi
Ampuni kami sesama ciptaan yang lain.
Berkenan terimalah kami kembali dalam tarian kehidupan Ilahi
Yang saling merangkul sbg saudara
Saling berbagi energi utk kehidupan bersama yg utuh.