We Will Not Be Wearied: A Prayer to End Gun Violence

We Will Not Be Wearied: A #Prayer to End #GunViolence

(c) Rabbi Menachem Creditor

Dear God,

31 and 32,000:

31 killed by guns every day
32,000 every year

God, we have every reason to become numb,
to become used to this blasphemous trend,
to barely even register
that Your Images are being erased
by a fetishized weapon, our national idol.

31 and 32,000

God, we know we must act,
and we know that, in order to act,
we must feel the urgency - Your Urgency.
We must channel Your pain
at the deaths of Your children
and remind our lawmakers to choose life.

We've been too quiet,
mistaking status updates and reactionary prayers
for true repentance for the worship of a weapon.
Our nation has endured
the epidemic of Gun Violence
for far too long.

31 and 32,000

And so, God,
as we feel the beginnings of our own weariness
after two mass shootings within 4 hours
we remember the wisdom of Your Prophet,
who taught that:

"...those who hope in God will renew their strength. 

They will soar on wings like eagles; 

they will run and not grow weary, 

they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:31)

We pray to You for renewal
as we spread our protective wings over one another again,
running to justice,
refusing weariness,
and choosing life.

May we sing louder than weaponsand merit to see You in each other's eyes,
sanctifying Your Name
by standing together
by rising up again,
this time rebuilding Your World
by saving each other.

Amen.

............................
Rabbi Menachem Creditor
▶menachemcreditor.org ▶netivotshalom.org

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