A Prayer for the Beginning of Easter

Jan L. Richardson

(Living God’s Justice, Reflections and Prayers)

God of community,

Who calls us to be in relationship with one another

And who has promised to dwell

Wherever two or three are gathered, hear this prayer:

By your Spirit you have graced each of us with differing gifts.

To one you have given the speaking of wisdom,

To another, the utterance of knowledge,

To another faith,

To another, the gifts of healing,

To another , the working of miracles,

To another, prophesy,

To another, discernment of spirits,

To another, various kinds of tongues,

And to another, the interpretation of tongues. (1 Cor. 12:7-11)

For all these gifts

By which you bless our communities,

I give you thanks.

And for any way in which I have shared

In deepening the wounds of the body of Christ

I seek your love-filled forgiveness.

Open my eyes, O God, to perceive the gifts

You have placed within me

And to honor the differing gifts

Which my sisters and brothers offer.

Bless our hands, our hearts, our vision

To work together for the bringing of your kingdom,

That in our differences, we may find grace;

In our laboring, we may find justice;

In our suffering, love;

And in our risking, transformation.

By these acts may we bring healing

To the tender, wounded, and strong

Body of Christ,

Rising in our midst.

We are all related in this kingdom as we are “kin” in God and that we are to build relationships of love, peace and justice with all of creation.

How can I live this on a daily basis?

How can I show the risen Christ to others at home, at work, in school, in the parish, in the community and in the world?

How can I relish the gifts in others when they are different than mine?

Alleluia, Christ has Risen Today!