Easter Prayer of Intercession
Bruce Van Voorhis – Hong Kong
Prayer of Intercession
Kowloon Union Church
Easter
We come before you today, Lord, full of joy and praise for you on this Easter morning. We give thanks for the blessing of new life that you have given each of us through the gift of your Son’s resurrection. We cannot understand the mystery of your ways nor comprehend your love, but we treasure the spiritual nourishment that you offer us.
As much as we cherish the new life you give us, we cannot fully enjoy this gift, however, as we witness the suffering of far too many of our sisters and brothers-those whose dignity is denied by poverty, those who pray to escape the violence of war, those whose rights are abused by exploitation, those who are dehumanized by discrimination. While you have sacrificed your only Son for us, we are busy denying that others are God’s children too. We pray, Lord, for an end to the violence and injustices that our brothers and sisters face daily. We pray for just an ounce of your love that the insanity that occurs in our societies every day can cease.
The Resurrection has shown us that the power of love can overcome death, that the power of love can resolve the contradictions of this world. Let it be an example to us, Lord that love is much more useful to solving our problems today than military might, for the perception of military victory only plants the seeds of hatred and revenge that lead to a future orgy of death and violence.
It is appropriate that on this Easter morning we join other members of the world’s ecumenical family in praying for the children of God in East Timor, Indonesia and the Philippines-lands that have suffered for many, many years from the misuse of misguided power. We pray for peace in their lives, for food in their stomachs. May their days of suffering and violence be behind them.
At Kowloon Union Church, we give thanks once again on this Easter morning for the many blessings you have given us. We continue to pray for our senior members and for the recovery of people connected to our church community from their illnesses and injuries. Let us take a moment now to pray in silence or aloud for the joys and struggles in our own lives and for those in the lives of our loved ones. (silence)
As we end our Easter prayer, Lord, we ask that you will continue to guide us with your wisdom and love that we may be more faithful witnesses in your world. May the love of this Resurrection morning touch the lives of everyone. May the new life that we celebrate today be the foundation for a new world. Amen.
Bruce Van Voorhis
Bruce Van Voorhis serves as missionary with the Asian Human Rights Commission located in Hong Kong. He serves as a writer and editor with the Commission.