Prayer Offered for January 3, 2018

Loving Creator, Eternal Friend,

Grant us an ease to breathe deeply of this moment,

This light, this miracle of NOW.

Beneath the din and fury of great movements

And harsh news, and urgent crises,

Make us attentive still to good news,

To small occasions, and the grace of what is possible

For us to be, to do, to give, to receive—

That we may miss neither our neighbor’s gift

Nor our enemy’s need.

Precious God, grant us the eyes to see

With the one who saw signs of your kingdom

In salt and yeast, in pearls and seeds,

In travelers and tax collectors, in foreigners and fishermen,

That we may follow your call in justice and joy.—AMEN.

^{(Adapted from “I Need to Breathe” by Ted Loder.)}