Biblical Reflections on Justice, Mercy, and Healing

When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native born. Love him as yourself, for you were once aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 19:33-34

Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, and please the widow s cause Isaiah 1:17

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people Proverbs 14:34

Lament: prayers in the Bible that express deep sorrow, frustration and/or pain for suffering while still trusting in God s love and asking for God's blessing or intervention

O God Most High, hear our cry! You are our refuge and our strength, a present help in the time of trouble. Your power to save knows neither limit nor boundary. We call on your power to save us today. And we pray: Father, have mercy on us.

Father, we acknowledge that 400 years have passed since the hundreds of African men and women were stolen from their homeland and forced to make a deadly voyage across the ocean. We grieve for the lives that were lost before arrival - the mothers, fathers, daughters and sons. We grieve for them and for the millions of African lives that were lost in the deadly Middle Passage over the 200 years that followed. And we pray: God, this is the day of salvation.

Lord Jesus. We grieve for the hundreds of thousands of Africans bought and sold on this land, including here in our city. We remember the men, women and children whose culture, language, heritage, and dignity were stripped from them mercilessly. Lord please forgive our country for the great evil we have allowed. And we pray: Lord Jesus, have mercy on us.

Holy Spirit, we remember that even after slaverys end, its legacy and power has persisted through unjust laws, intimidation, and the hostility of human hearts. Over the years, lives were lost, families destroyed, freedoms robbed, and God-given rights refused. Your gospel of grace, liberation and reconciliation has been ignored and denied. And we pray: Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.

O Lord, hear our prayer! Forgive the sins of our nation and have mercy on our land. Destroy the evil that still holds us in its grasp. We renounce any agreement your Church has made with the kingdom of darkness in this tragedy and how we have ignored injustice over the years. Come quickly, we pray, to revive us and make us new. And we pray: Father, bring your salvation and justice.

O Lord, hear our prayer! Jesus Christ, you came for us, you died for us, you rose for us. You put to death all human hostility through your death on the cross to unite us and make us one through your grace. You have risen to life for our forgiveness, renewal and hope. Release your resurrection power among us to heal our land, our city, and our hearts. And we pray: Lord Jesus, bring your salvation and justice.

. . . .Give us empathy and understanding. Create trust where there is pain. Give us the grace to persevere, to repent, to forgive, and to love. Empower us to love each other as Christ loved us - with humility and strength. Make us an instrument of Your healing in our community, city and nation unite us as churches and with our church to be the ambassadors of reconciliation you desire for all who remain and the generations that are coming. And we pray: Holy Spirit, bring your salvation and justice.

Slides for Song Lord, Heal Our Land Written by Jared Anderson

Moment of Silent Prayer & Reflection

Words to the lords prayer here