a blessing for peace (For the Second Sunday of Advent)

God, we long for peace,
but we have already drawn our blades.
We are at war with each other,
and within ourselves.

Our world—the evidence of our folly—on full display.
We waste away in quarries dug by our own hands.

Oh, Jesus, come to us.
Come suddenly, into the center of our deepest need.
Come swiftly into the chaos of our conflict and distress.

Establish the peaceful order of your rule, not ours.
Your kingdom, not ours.
Reign with sovereignty in our hearts,
which refuse correction.
Reign with power over all that is ungovernable.
Reign with mercy over our communities, our neighborhoods, and our nation.

Blessed are we who look to you, Jesus,
to be the change we cannot enact.
Come, prince of peace, to our bleeding world.