A prayer for better days in 2021
Perhaps no new year has been as anxiously anticipated as the upcoming flip of the calendar from 2020 to 2021. Our rational minds know that there is no real substantial change from Dec. 31 of the present year to Jan.
1 of the next, but our hearts soar at the prospect of leaving 2020 far behind us. This annus horribilis has brought death and illness, unemployment and homelessness, fear and separation, loss and distrust. Some of us have suffered more than others this year. Some of us have suffered more than others for a long time.
We may be longing to go back to normal, but maybe normal isn’t going to be good enough. Maybe 2020, for all its woes, can give us a chance for a social reset. Maybe our society’s old normal can become a better new normal, one that leaves no one behind. Inclusion and justice and equality for all are lofty goals, but we’ve had a lot of time to dream this year. We’ve had time to reflect, and perhaps to find constructive ways to work for the well-being of our fellow humans and our ailing planet. We are, as people of faith, called to love our neighbor, after all. So in the spirit of togetherness, with the conviction that we all have a stake in a brighter, more intertwined future, I offer a prayer for 2021. Good and gracious God, We thank you for the wonder of life, for the opportunity to love and serve you on this miraculous earth. We thank you for the gift of another year, and another chance to do your will.
Help us to be mindful, in 2021: That if we have enough to eat, others go hungry until we share our bounty.
That if we have a home, others are homeless until we build adequate shelters.
That if we are warmly clothed, others shiver with cold until we offer a helping hand.
That if we have a job, others are unemployed until we train or hire or mentor them.
That if we occupy positions of privilege, others are oppressed until we stand for justice and equity.
That if our children enjoy safety and security, others are in danger until we protect them and advocate for them.
That if we have health care, others suffer needlessly until we provide coverage for all.
That if our loved ones are living with us, other are lonely until we welcome and embrace them.
That if we have recovered from illness or adversity or addiction, others still fight their demons until we hold them in prayer.
That if we have money in the bank, others go without until we are generous with our fortune.
That if we harbor hope for the future, others sink in despair until we offer a light for the path ahead.
That if we just do our part, we will make a whole.
Help us, O God, to embody your boundless love and mercy in our daily lives. Rain your grace upon us, and bless us in building a more compassionate society together. Amen.
“The people who walked in darkness / have seen a great light; / Upon those who lived in a land of gloom / a light has shone,” proclaims the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 9:1), and while we are still engulfed in darkest night, the sunrise of hope beckons from the horizon. I pray that 2021 will be the annus mirabilis in which we rise to the occasion and each do our part to bring light to all the world.