Prayer for Earth

Prayer for Earth
 
Leader: God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good. (Gen 1: 31)
We pause and remember that the God who created us and who sustains us is never far from us. In God we live and move and have our being.
 
All: Oh God, Holy Spirit, whose breath gives life to the world,
whose voice is heard in the soft breeze,
and whose power is revealed in the rushing wind,
we need your strength and wisdom.
Come to us and among us;
Come as the wind and cleanse us.
We join with your creation and with each other.
 
 
Prayer before reading Sacred Scripture
 
All: Oh Lord, open our minds and hearts so that we may hear your holy Word,
understand it,  and do your will as we sojourn on this earth.
 
Psalm 33
Ring out your joy to the Lord, oh you just,
for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.
For the word of the Lord is faithful and all his works to be trusted.
The Lord loves justice and right and fills the earth with his love.
By his work the heavens were made,
by the breath of his mouth all the stars.
He collects the waves of the ocean;
he stores up the depths of the sea.
Let all the earth fear the Lord, all who live in the world revere him.
He spoke, and it came to be.
He commanded; it sprang into being.
They are happy, whose God is the Lord, the people he has chosen as his own.
From the place where he dwells he gazes on all the dwellers of the earth,
he who shapes the hearts of them all and considers all their deeds.
May your love be upon us, oh Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
 
Isaiah 45:
For thus says the Lord, the creator of the heavens,
who is God, the designer and maker of the earth, who established it,
not creating it to be a waste,
but designing it to be lived in:
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I have not spoken from hiding, nor from some dark place of the earth.
Turn to me and be safe, all you ends of the earth,
for I am God; there is no other!
 
John 1: 1-5, 9-12,14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race;
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world came to be through him,
but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.
But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God,
to those who believe in his name.
And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
 
Reflection
Ponder these words and, through this pondering, see and touch God in the world of splendor that is surrounding us at this very moment. What is God saying to us? How should we respond? All thought, all creation, speaks of God's glory and providence. As we are called to see ourselves and each other as earthen vessels that hold God's presence and bring God's gifts to the world, so too, this very world and all that is above, around and within it are earthen vessels - just as easily shattered, just as much in need of our loving attentiveness and support. May our hands align with God's in respecting and shaping these precious gifts of creation.                         (time for quiet reflection)
 
Response
Leader: Together we proclaim:
 
All: We, and all creation, are God's earthen vessels.
Help us, oh Lord to live and act in harmony
and interdependence with all creation,
that your own love might be expressed,
to all the world’s oppressed.
Free us to open wide our hearts;
Help us to rise out of our apathy.
Redeeming God, convert our will to act for justice and peace.
 
Hymn: For the Beauty of the Earth
 
Concluding Prayer
 
All: Creator God, we thank you for all of creation.
We ask your forgiveness where we have failed to be just stewards.
And we now ask for your guidance in restoring the face of the earth.
May we learn to live in harmony and safety, justly sharing resources among all,
so that we build up the kingdom of God.
Amen.
 
Prayers of the faithful, the Lord’s Prayer, sign of peace.