Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Your glory is displayed both above and below, in the sky and here on earth. In the heavens, we see the marvellous work of your creative genius - the beauty of the Milky Way, the brilliance of a colourful sunset, the fearful power of a thunderstorm, and the perfect placement of earth in the solar system to allow life to grow and be sustained.
And yet you are interested in us, your creation! You make whole galaxies turn, and yet you turn your ear to listen to the words of little children. And you don't just listen, you answer their prayers! You not only provide for us, but you care for us, you love us, and you open yourself to us. We are such a tiny part of a massive universe, and yet you call us the crowning glory of your creation.
You have made us in your image! Like you, we can think and create, reason and relate. You have given us this world to live in, and given us strength to change it. Because of you, we have power over many parts of this world; we have filled it and to a large extent we have subdued it to our will. We can provide for each other.
And yet, though you made us to be like you, we are not you. You are infinite and timeless: we are like fireworks, that burst onto the scene and then as quickly fade to smoke; we are like goldfish in a bowl, who cannot see past our own limited circumstances and situation, and are quick to forget the past. You are perfect and powerful: we are as likely to ruin something as to improve it; and we often make mistakes we cannot fix.
And yet we still think we're so great, that we ignore you. You, the power of powers, the giver of our life, the master of our future - we replace you with things as weak and uncaring as the sun and moon, or silver-tongued leaders, or the mighty dollar. We are made in your image, and yet we treat each other as less than human. When people need work, we exploit them; when they need respect, we abuse them; when they need wisdom, we arrest them; when they need protection, we detain them; when they need your word, we ignore them.
But despite our failings, you reach out to us, and call us your people, and send us message after message to tell us that you are still here, that you still love us, and that you want us to follow you. You continue to show us who you are, and through that who we are in relation to you - beloved, special, worthy of your attention. Help us to recognise that worth you give us - not just in ourselves, but in each other - and to follow your call and reflect your image by demanding justice for the weak, showing grace to the guilty, giving help to the hurting, support to the sick, comfort to the grieving, and love to the lost. We pray to you for these people - those we know, those close to us, and those we only hear about; those we love, and those who set themselves up as enemies against us - in love for them, seeking to love them as you have loved us through Jesus Christ. It is by his name and in his authority that we pray, Amen.
