Not fancying having to hang my cagoule up over the bath for the third time this week, I’ve so far stayed indoors, to make a minor tweak to the Prayers for Places website. As it often happens, a minor tweak takes longer than expected. But it’s done now, although a little crude. FWIW we now have 447 prayers tied to geographical locations.
The Lectionary for Sunday includes a second Old Testament reading from Micah, in which the prophet speaks out against the corruption he sees in high places (including prophets and religious leaders). And yet our experience is that corruption has proved durable in the world, hard to eliminate. Corruption and lies are an attack on democracy itself. Note one of the complaints… “3:11 Its rulers give judgement for a bribe, its priests teach for a price, its prophets give oracles for money;…” That’s a bit sobering to hear for me, since I live on an adequate pension provided by the church. Of course I never accepted bribes. One time a bottle of wine from an undertaker appeared on the doorstep just before Christmas and I embarrassedly fed into a raffle or jumble sale or some such. … But I often found myself tending to say what I thought people would want to hear – or saying things in the nicest way I could, at the back of my mind fearing that I might find it hard to stay in a job. No such scruples for Micah, though. He tells it like it is.
Janet continues to add her insights on the Rule of Benedict in the form of letters on her blog. The latest is about sleep, with a brilliant quilt thrown in for good measure.
I could take a picture of the rain if you wanted, but today’s isn’t very interesting.
God, take away the corruption and dishonesty
from the political life of our country,
and from the countries of the world.
Help us to take even the hardest decisions
with clear-eyed honesty.
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.