“The road we travel is equal in importance to the destination we seek. There are no shortcuts. When it comes to truth and reconciliation we are forced to go the distance.”
–Justice Murray Sinclair (who died on Monday of this week), Chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
God of the road, Maker of ways forward,
Thank you for your provisions as we travel together:
You give sustenance. You allow for rest.
And you offer really great stories around the campfire.
Encourage us, God!
Encourage us along the road, we pray!
Spirit of the road, Tireless Traveller,
While we begin our worship with a land acknowledgement,
Bless us as we discern how to move beyond acknowledgement.
When we think of truth and reconciliation,
When we estimate the hard-scrabble distance that lies before us,
How will you give us courage and vision?
Will you give us strong walking muscles?
Show us new options for building connections,
New shared paths for Indigenous and non-Indigenous.
Jesus of the road, Teacher of ways forward,
We pray for the world.
As your gospel of peace keeps moving and evolving,
We pray for blessed bewilderment for world leaders,
And then courage to make a change.
Can you provoke our leaders to instigate a ceasefire?
Can you provoke us to be peacemakers day by day?
Mapmaker of love,
We confess that sometimes we want the shortcut.
Sometimes we want the simple answer.
Then bless us with our next big surprise, and don’t hold back with the wilderness.
Confound us, make us sweat, and then make the sweat sacred.
…
Today we pray for our Households of Faith.
…
God of the road, Maker of ways forward,
We want to follow your way,
But sometimes we wonder about the destination.
Sometimes we want to travel faster or slower or more directly
Or we feel like taking the scenic route.
Be a hand on our shoulder, or a hand we can hold as we walk.
Be the wind in the trees, or the falling leaves,
Or the mystery critter in the underbrush.
Be the energy that pushes us to go around the next corner.
At the end of the day,
Be our God. Be our Holy Spirit. Be our Jesus.
Amen.