A PRAYER FOR THE 13th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Psalm 80

1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,

you who lead Joseph like a flock!

You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth

2 before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.

Stir up your might,

and come to save us!

3 Restore us, O God;

let your face shine, that we may be saved.

4 O Lord God of hosts,

how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?

5 You have fed them with the bread of tears,

and given them tears to drink in full measure.

6 You make us the scorn[a] of our neighbors;

our enemies laugh among themselves.

7 Restore us, O God of hosts;

let your face shine, that we may be saved.

8 You brought a vine out of Egypt;

you drove out the nations and planted it.

9 You cleared the ground for it;

it took deep root and filled the land.

10 The mountains were covered with its shade,

the mighty cedars with its branches;

11 it sent out its branches to the sea,

and its shoots to the River.

12 Why then have you broken down its walls,

so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?

13 The boar from the forest ravages it,

and all that move in the field feed on it.

Restore us, O God;

let your face shine, that we may be saved.

We are a proud people

We believed that this land

was Our new Eden

A gift you gave to our forefathers

and foremothers

to carve out a new life

a new beginning

Forgive us

that we took possession of it

from its native people

through genocide and conquest

turning them

aliens in their own land

Restore us, O God;

let your face shine, that we may be saved.

We are a proud people

We plowed the land

and brought forth its bounty

crops and fruits

that fed our families

and nourished our people

Forgive us

that we enslaved millions

to harvest and till the land

oppressing them for hundreds of years

denying them dignity and honor

forcing them to sit in the rear

Restore us, O God;

let your face shine, that we may be saved.

We are a proud people

We have built up a nation

designed cities and states

that drew back the wilderness

and tamed the land

using its waters and minerals

for power and light

Forgive us

for turning Your Garden

into polluted skies

and water that is fouled

cutting away its forests

diminishing its beauty

Restore us, O God;

let your face shine, that we may be saved.

We are a proud people

Forgive us

Bend our pride into humble thanksgiving

Burn away our arrogance

so we may acknowledge that

this wondrous land is your creation

Teach us that we are its stewards

not its owners

and our lease can be cancelled

Remind us that all we are

and all we have

is a gift from you

Restore us, O God;

let your face shine, that we may be saved.

Amen