Great Creator Spirit, Lord God, Papa Jesus
We stand before you because we must.
We stand before You because
truths that should be self-evident
are not so evident in this land now called Australia.
And so we turn to you to breathe
ever more of Your Spirit into us
because we find we cannot breathe,
the arms of armed forces wrapped around our throats
when we call out for justice.
We call to you in defiance of
State and Territory systems that deny our human rights and human dignity,
where Aboriginal people in custody are sick and dying and are denied medical attention,
where Aboriginal men are twice as likely to be in prison than in University,
where 10 year old children are sent to prisons and Aboriginal children and young people are 24 times more likely to be in prison.
We shout to the Heavens with one, unified voice:
Aboriginal. Lives. Matter.
We are called by scripture to pray for the day when we will
beat swords into plowshares and study war no more,
when the surplus of war led by greed and deception
will not spill into our streets,
where swords and rifles and chains and iron bars
will be beaten thinner and thinner,
the iron of hatred vanishing forever. (Amichai)
We pray to you because,
as our prophets have taught us:
human suffering anywhere
concerns men and women everywhere.
We call to you, O God,
because Your Image
had broken ribs
and was dragged across a concrete floor.
We call to you, O God,
because Your Spirit
was choked out of a young man who
called out 12 times’ “I can’t breathe.”
We call to you, O God,
because Your child
was placed in a spithood with hands and feet restrained
We raise our hands to you,
knowing that the work is ours to do,
black, white, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal,
Multicultural Australia, young and old –
These are your images, battered
Bruised
Stripped of their human dignity.
Dead.
We are all responsible for what happens next.
And so we pray to You,
Source of Life,
raise up our eyes
to see You in each other’s eyes,
to take risks for justice,
to bring through our unified prayer today
more Love and Compassion into Australia and into the world.
Ignite us to combat the hidden prejudice
which causes memory loss and coverup,
Let truth and transparency reign from the tongue of every witness.
We pray today not for calm but for righteousness
to flow like a mighty river, until
peace fills the earth as the waters fill the sea.
Comfort the families of all who grieve.
Strengthen us to work for a world redeemed.
And we say together:
Amen.