Shed a little light

Pastoral prayer in a season of madmen

by Nancy Hastings Sehested

Holy Light,

We stand somewhere in the shadows, in-between the battlefield of our struggles and the sanctuary of our souls.

Shed a little light on our way. Keep your lighted sanctuary within us portable, able to see clearly, to walk courageously, to withstand the forces that corrupt the truth of our belonging to your one world-wide family.

Shed a little light on our way, kicking up the star-dust of our humanity.

Thank you that it was the wrong button pushed on news of missile fires. Thank you that another wrong button of retaliation wasn’t pushed right after it.

May all the destroying buttons always be the wrong ones. Keep our madmen world leaders away from buttons of annihilation. Keep them clearly out of range of pushing our buttons toward hopelessness and helplessness. Don’t give them security clearness to our spirits. Keep us ever secure in You.

Shed a little light on our way.

Shed your light of healing on all who struggle with illness of body, mind and spirit.

Shed your light of grace for all who stumble with regrets and shame too tender to touch.

Shed your light of mercy on all who fear for their lives, who are caught in the crucible of suffering.

Shed your light for us again on Jesus, that one who was accused of being from that no-good expletive place called Nazareth. May his way of love for all be our all in all in service to You.

Here, now, once again…shed a little light on us all. Amen.

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Circle of Mercy Congregation
Asheville, NC
January 14, 2018

The “shed a little light” phrase references James Taylor’s song by that name about Martin Luther King Jr.

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