What God has joined together now lies in pieces.
What began with delight and tenderness,
reeks now with bitterness and festering pain.
What began with soft words of love,
grates now with harsh words of blaming.
Jesus, we look for you
as we stand near this relationship’s slow crucifixion.
Each says to the other, “Why have you forsaken me?”
As we stand on this barren Golgotha
we are desperate to repair this relationship,
which is not in our power to fix.
We urgently want to end this bleeding,
for which there is no quick remedy.
In the face of suffering we cannot fathom,
and stories which haven’t yet found a voice,
as a community we surround this family.
Holy Spirit, as we watch and wait,
empower us not to turn away.
As people of peace,
the deaths in this small war leave us
pleading for resurrection.
With humble hearts and empty hands we pray,
“Father, into your hands we give this family.”
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I am a Mennonite pastor currently teaching theology at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. I’ve served congregations in Ontario and most recently, Alberta.