We Will Not Look Away: A Litany

One voice reads; all respond with the bold line.

This week our country scheduled the execution
of the man who killed thirteen people at Fort Hood.
We bring all of it before you.

God who sees what we would rather not,
who has never looked away from any of us,
be with us now.

I.

For the families who have waited a long time for something called justice,
and for whatever they feel this week, we will not look away.

For the man who did it,
for whatever broke in him, for what he chose,
for the fact that he is still a human,
we will not look away.

For the soldiers who will be handed rifles and told to aim,
for what they'll carry after,
we will not look away.

For a country that answers killing with killing
and calls it the end of the story,
for the part of us that wants it to be,
and the part of us that knows it isn't,
we will not look away.

For all the deaths this week we didn't see,the ones no one announced,
we will not look away.

II.

We bring before you the griefs of our neighborhood and our country.

For neighbors taken from job sites and parking lots,
for children who come home to an empty kitchen,
for every family afraid to answer the door,
we will not look away.

For the cart put back half full at the register,
for the math done quietly in the cereal aisle,
for the parents who eat last, and less,
we will not look away.

For the burned hills and the flooded towns,
for the heat that comes earlier and stays longer,
for the creatures going quiet,
and the children who will inherit what we leave,
we will not look away.

For the news we scroll past just to get through the day,
for our own numbness,
and the tiredness that pretends to be peace,
we will not look away.

[Space to add your own prayers,
And we’ll respond: we will not look away.]

Silence.

Love, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Love, have mercy.

Closing prayer, all together

There is a shroud over all of us.
You promised a day when it would be torn,
when death itself would be swallowed,
and every face wiped dry.
We are not there yet.
So we stay here, together,
and we will not look away.
Amen.