Spirit of Life, God, Divine Universe:

We are grateful to be here this morning, amongst those who share this faith, the faith which gives us spiritual sustenance in a topsy-turvy world; helps us make sense of pain and suffering; reminds us to welcome grace and to be grateful for the smallest things; opens our hearts to mystery, to the beauty of Earth.

We mourn for those who have gone before us, those whose lives were cut short, and those who led a full life. We mourn for those who have suffered the ultimate cost, caught in a place of war, bewildered by how quickly their lives have fallen apart: from peace to destruction and death.

May we feed a desire in our soul, unquenchable, to be some small part of moving this world toward love.

May we clasp our beloved and our children and grandchildren just that one second longer.

May we dare to ask a person whom we do not know how their week was, and answer the question, “How are you?” with authenticity, witnessing each other’s lives.
May we stop to say “thank you” to the check-out clerk at the grocery store, to smile into the eyes of the coffee barista, pull our neighbors’ garbage cans up their drive anonymously, listen to a soldier’s story.

Each of these moments strengthens our interdependent web of life, strengthens our ability to lean into love when it is not easy, encourages others to join us in living a compassionate life.

May we send our love to all the corners of the world, to those suffering from violence and war, and to those places trying to recover from the cost of war.
Amen.