Prayer of the Day

Lest I appear irreverent, I will take a moment in worship today to acknowledge our national mania. The prayer I thought to offer was adapted from this

"Confessional Prayer"*

(to be said before watching football games)

Most merciful God, Forgive us for what we are about to do;

For our blood-curdling cries, Lord, have mercy;
For our lust for violence, Lord, have mercy;
For our emulation of military conquest, Lord, have mercy;
For our favor to the strong, Lord, have mercy;
For our scorn upon the weak, Lord, have mercy;
For the vengeance which we seek upon enemies whom we oppose for the most arbitrary of reasons,
Lord, have mercy.

We acknowledge and bewail our mortal sins and weaknesses;
We are troubled by these dark comparisons:
the football stadium and the coliseum;
the fans and the pagan mobs;
the star athletes and the demigods;
the linebackers and the gladiators;
the cheerleaders and the furies;
the commentators and the chorus;
the corporations and the slave owners.

We can only hope that you see, as we do,
that this is only a game;
and that you haven't lost your sense of humor.
Despite appearances to the contrary, our heart remains faithful to you.
Even as we glory in the spectacle of our football enemies being pounded into the dust,
we will strive to remember you.

God, be with those who will taste [artificial turf]+ this day.
Heal those who will be injured;
Console the losers with gratitude for the privilege of having played;
Ennoble the victors with gentle reminders of their mortality;
And show your favor toward all contestants
Who this day will shed their blood and break their bones
for our trivial sakes, AMEN.

--Jack Lohr, Interim Pastor

PS: In the end, it was a bit long, so I chose another way in worship and referred people to the blog for the full frontal liturgy.

*Written by the Rev. Matthew Lawrence, Chaplain, Canterbury House (an Episcopal ministry at U. Mich.), and Director of the Institute for Public Theology, for the start of the Wolverines' 1998 season and broadcast on Michigan Public Radio
+"dirt" in the original, however the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium uses the most technologically advanced synthetic turf, called Matrix™