Prayers of the People, OT22B

All around us, 
we are bombarded by worldly definitions
of love.
As we sing along 
with the lullabies
and the lamentations,
our own hearts soar
and sink,
reflecting upon our personal experience.
Hear the lovers rejoice, Lord,
in the springtime rhapsody,
and bless their joyful hearts
with courage
and with laughter.
Hear the spurned lament, Lord,
in the gut-wrenching blues,
and bless their broken spirits
with comfort
and with peace.
Hear the ballad of the long-committed, Lord,
as they sing the wonders
and the woes of love
with all its peaks and valleys,
and bless their attempts to be faithful
in a world where commitment is loosely defined.
Hear the painful expression of the betrayed, Lord,
as they rant
and roar
and rail against love
and against you
and against the world
in search of answers to questions
they can't begin to articulate.
Hear the long, slow wail of the grieving, Lord,
who have loved deeply 
and lost,
and bless their brokenness
with healing 
and with hope.
Hear the mournful cry of the lonely, Lord,
who long to love
and to be loved,
and bless the emptiness within them
with patience
and with strength.
Speak to your beloved, Lord,
and call us away
to pastures of plenty
where our hearts can be nourished
in the love 
that is the source of all love,
reconciling us to one another
and to you.


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