Just Shy of Resurrection

Yesterday I had the incredible opportunity to offer the opening prayer at the White House Easter Prayer Breakfast.  

Loving and gracious God, we come here today with gratitude for your way of love, a love that death could not destroy and a tomb could not contain.  With that acknowledgment, we also confess that we struggle with the brokenness of our world and the responsibilities we bear.

You came to proclaim Good News to the poor, but too many of your children go sleep with empty stomachs on cold streets.  You came to give sight to the blind, but time and again we fail to see you in the faces of our neighbors.

We are Easter people, but so often we live in the reality of crucifixion, just shy of resurrection.  Grant us the wisdom, courage, and strength to live as resurrection people, not conformed to the realities of this world, but determined to transform it as agents of your justice, healing, and love.

In the name of the risen Christ I pray, Amen.