a blessing for a world when facts don’t stay neutral

a blessing for a world when facts don’t stay neutral.

o God, this is world divided by facts that don’t stay
neutral, and even a virus can be politicized. we are in a
battle for the stability of truth, and as in any war, the
truth is the first to die. everybody loses.

o God, protect the very basis of our democracies.
grant us mutual respect for objective truth
and the desire to preserve our commitment to keep
moving toward each other

“as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” —Proverbs 27:17

God have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Spirit have mercy.

blessed are we who will listen with even-minded focus
and attention
even to those who are not like us,
who will accept and apply the truth
even when it does not match our deepest hopes

God, you know what can happen
when facts are used as weapons to dominate or distort
it’s a problem as old as Pontius Pilate who said “what is
truth?”
but it has thrown our world into chaos.

blessed are we who cry out, o God,
save us. cut through the clouds of misinformation
sewn deliberately to destabilize, or incite us to hate,
and stop the social media mechanisms
that promote deceit
dry up the revenue gained from preying on our
weakness

let facts be just true again, and lying be wrong again.

blessed are we who ask for mental toughness,
in the midst of uncertainty and pressure,
to take stock of what can be done to protect all the
processes in place:
sound scientific research, the production of a vaccine,
for debate, fair process, and in the voting process.

unite us around respect for knowledge in all its
complexity.
restore our trust in the whole truth
and let it resonate everywhere, in everyone

“You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me
wisdom in my secret heart.” —Psalm 56:1

God have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Spirit have mercy.

listen. consider the source. stand for one another.

“but when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you
into all the truth.” —John 16:3