Beautiful Savior, Lord of Creation,
thank you for the joys of this resurrection day -
for hymns and "Alleluias" and cards and corsages,
for eggs and bunnies and butterflies and bouquets,
for rocket ships and basketball games and Thomas the Tortoise,
for brunches and buffets.
Thank you for touching my heart
and bringing me new life
and walking with me each day
and assuring me that when this life is over
you will still be there.
So I am good.
But I pray today
for those in places, high or low,
who are not walking in your way;
for those who think it is acceptable to bomb
civilian buildings and infrastructure;
for those who would take money from
the sick, the hungry, the homeless, the poor,
and use it to buy guns and planes and warships.
And most of all I pray today
for mothers and fathers who are holding their children
in the piles of rubble where their homes used to be;
for farmers whose land has dried up and worn out;
for families who are at the mercy of violent gangs and corrupt governments,
or who find themselves alone in a strange land with no one to turn to;
for anyone who for whatever reason
does not see their way to an acceptable future.
So I pray for whatever it would take
that your Resurrection Joy would surface in their lives,
and that we all might live together in justice, kindness, and humility,
in the peace which comes from your heart to this our/your world.
And I pray in the name of Jesus,
Resurrected Prince of Peace.