A world made in your image and likeness

is desperate for your healing touch.

It is a place where people do not have

enough water,

or enough food, or enough medicine

even though there is enough of these

things in the world.

It is a realm where people hunger for freedom and are tortured and killed for this yearning.

It is a world where there is much anger

and hatred, distrust and little peace.

We ourselves tend to avoid those we

don't know, those who don't look like us, or think like us, or worship like us.

And yet you call to us to be good stewards

of our neighbors; to love them as we love ourselves; to love them with greater hearts than we can imagine.

Give us the courage we need to be better stewards of our neighbors; and to believe what you tell us, that you will give us everything we need to love in your name, so your healing may truly be made manifest in this world.

We pray this through Christ our Lord.