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One
of
the
books
on
my
“to
be
read”
shelf
is,
Prayers
for
a
Privileged
People
by
Walter
Brueggemann.
I
believe
I’ve
told
you
previously
that
Walt
was
one
of
my
Old
Testament
professors.
His
prayers
at
the
start
of
each
class
session
were
so
rich
and
powerful
that
many
of
us
took
notes
on
them,
because
we
didn’t
want
to
lose
the
images
and
metaphors
that
flowed
from
his
heart
and
over
his
lips
and
up
into
the
presence
of
God.
In
the
preface
to
this
collection
of
his
prayers,
Walt
begins
with
the
premise
that
our
context
in
life
influences
how
we
pray
and
what
we
pray.
Because
most
of
us
who
inhabit
Mainline
churches
like
Central
are
fairly
affluent
by
the
standards
of
our
country
and
the
world,
Walt
believes
that
privilege
is
the
context
in
which
our
prayers
are
shaped.
Brueggemann
is
not
trying
to
condemn
folks
for
their
place
of
privilege.
Rather,
he
is
inviting
us
to
see
that
other
children
of
God
exist
in,
and
pray
from,
vastly
different
contexts:
“When
we
think
and
notice
and
pray
beyond
ourselves,
we
are
mindful
of
many
others
who
do
not
participate
with
us
in
that
privilege.
There
are
those
all
around
us
who
live
lives
of
deficit
and
need,
who
are
cut
off
from
power,
denied
access
to
the
gains
of
our
society,
and
who
face
daily
vulnerability.
The
are
not
automatically
or
everywhere
a
threat
to
our
comfort
and
privilege.
But
they
are
there,
and
they
will
not
go
away.
As
we
are
haunted
by
them,
so
they
inhabit
our
prayers.
We
are
wont
to
regard
them
as
an
inconvenience,
if
not
a
threat.
But
we
know,
when
we
settle
toward
God’s
rule,
that
they
are
sisters
and
brothers
who
share
with
us
a
common
destiny
and
a
common
mercy
from
God.
We
are
not
able,
by
our
will
or
intellect,
to
disengage
from
them.
And
so
we
pray
for
them
and,
when
we
are
able,
we
pray
alongside
them”
(p.
xiv)
Here
at
the
start
of
the
busy
and
hot
and
beautiful
month
of
August,
I
want
to
share
with
you
one
of
the
prayers
from
Prayers
for
a
Privileged
People:
“Waiting
for
Bread…..and
for
God’s
Future”
We
are
strange
mixtures
of
loss
and
hope.
As
we
are
able,
we
submit
our
losses
to
you.
We
know
about
sickness
and
dying,
about
death
and
mortality,
about
failure
and
disappointment.
And
now
for
a
moment
we
do
our
failing
and
our
dying
in
your
presence,
you
who
attend
to
us
in
loss.
As
we
are
able,
we
submit
our
hopes
to
you.
We
know
about
self-focused
fantasy
and
notions
of
control.
But
we
also
know
that
our
futures
are
out
beyond
us,
held
in
your
good
hand.
Our
hopes
are
filled
with
promises
of
well-being,
justice
and
mercy.
Move
us
this
day
beyond
our
fears
and
anxieties
into
our
land
of
goodness.
We
wait
for
your
coming,
we
pray
for
your
kingdom.
In
the
meantime,
give
us
bread
for
the
day.
See
you
in
church
this
Sunday……
Pastor
Bill
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