A Confession in a Time of War

My God, My God why have you forsaken the children of Iraq?
Why oh God have you forsaken the children, the mothers, the fathers, brothers and sisters, the aged and the sick?
Are they not crying out to be spared from their terror?
Creator of all that is,
What have they done to deserve fear and destruction?

Why oh God have you forsaken us?
Have we not cried out on their behalf?
Have we not spoken unequivocally of your love?
Have we not sung boldly of your mercy, of your justice and your peace?
We thought that this would please you.

Early in the morning and late at night, at noon and all through the day we have prayed to you our God.
We have sung and shouted ourselves hoarse inside our churches and in the streets!
We have fasted and denied ourselves comforts by standing vigil in frigid temperatures!
We have been handcuffed by the earthly authorities and put in jail.
We have written letters, faxed faxes and sent e-mails too numerous to count to those in power.
We have done all this, God, to be faithful to your law,
The Law you had written on our hearts.

Have you not seen these things, have you not heard us?
Have we not done enough, have we not been earnest enough?
Come on God!
Give me some reason to believe that you are a God of love,
A God who loves justice and who shows mercy?
Help me, oh God, to believe that you still desire that all your creation live in peace?
Help me, oh God, for I am weary.
I am tired. I am angry and in despair.

(Pause for silent reflection or other spoken confessions.)

Words of assurance

Matt. 20:17-19

In the Beginning, God!

In the Beginning, God,
in the darkness before the dawn
and in the advent promise that was Emmanuel!
The promise of advent now reaching its promised fulfillment as we wait on Easter.
The Promise, the promise is this,
God is with us!

Jesus' life shows us that God will open the eyes of those who are blind!
That God can open the ears of those who are not listening!
That God will give strength to those whose legs are weak!
That God gives hope to those in despair!
And if Jesus is Emmanuel, then God is with those who sorrow and who are in fear!

God is with us in our anger and despair!
God is there, waiting for the bombs to fall!