Liturgy for Troubling Times
Scriptures with Themes for Reflection
From NRSV
“Why God Hates Police Violence”.
Proverbs 6:16-19
16 There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 heart that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil,
19 lying witness who testifies falsely, and one who sows discord in a family.
“All People were made in God’s Image and Deserve Life in the Fullness Thereof”
Genesis 9:6
“Whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human shall that person's blood be shed; for in his own image God made humankind.”
“No one deserves to be Murdered”
Leviticus 24:17
17 “Anyone who kills a human being shall be put to death.”
“Officers who murder are doing the work of the Devil”
John 10:10
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
“No matter the evil done by Police Officers, nothing and no one can stop God from loving Black and Brown Bodies.”
Romans 8: 38-39
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
“There is Punishment for those who do wrong, including Police Officers.”
Romans 13:4
“for it is God's servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer.”
Prayers / Lament
Leader: In the Old Testament, in the book of Numbers, you asked for the people to be counted. The names of those who have been murder by the Chicago Police Department have grown to numbers too many to count. God, we ask for angels to be sent to the families of the victims and to grace for the souls that have been taken from this earth and returned to you.
Response: God Hear Our Prayer
Leader: God as is recorded in your sacred texts, we pray that all officers see Black, Brown, LGBTQIA+, Immigrant, and Disabled bodies as bodies made in your image.
Response: God Hear Our Prayer
Leader: God, your son whom you gave for all of us to live, we pray that police officers also see us as having lives worth protecting and serving so that we may live.
Response: God Hear Our Prayer
Leader: We ask for Justice, to not just be an ideal noun, but a lived verb, for that justice becomes the standard of action against those who abuse their power, practice misconduct, and abuse their authority. We pray that Justice is their reward, that their heinous acts are not protected by Blue walls of silence and inhumane contract stipulations, but judged and rendered by a jury of righteousness.
Response: God Hear Our Prayer
Leader: It is because of your divine creation and providence that we are born and live, that you decreed that Black bodies, Brown bodies, LGBTQIA+ Bodies, and all bodies that are not white live unencumbered and according to the law, the law that says innocent until proven guilty. We pray for these bodies to receive the process that is due to them, not executed in the streets, alleys, and homes of Chicago, but provided the same right and access to flourish in the life you have given to everyone.
Response: God Hear Our Prayer
Leader: God we lift up the work of the community of believers, the community that knows that liberation and freedom and justice and love first comes from you and then to be shared and given with the full intention to all. We pray to you now God, that this community does not stop fighting, does not stop protesting, does not stop contacting elected officials, does not stop yelling the names of the victims at the hands and guns of the Chicago Police Department. We pray to you now God, for the work to not only continue but that we are victorious in our efforts and end Police violence against the young, the innocent, the trans, the gay, the lesbian, the differently-abled, the mentally ill, to the Brown and the Black bodies of our world.
Response: God Hear Our Prayer! AMEN!