Finding the face of Jesus in the kids of Wamblee, SDI just got back from leading a high school mission and service trip to Wanblee, SD in the heart of the Pine Ridge reservation (more on that another time). While I was there, one of the leaders read the following blessing at the end of a worship service. It really spoke to me, and I thought it would serve as a good introduction to what I anticipate will be a series of blog entries about my time there...we experienced so much in that short week, it will honestly take a bit of processing for me. So much pain and hopelessness--and yet, so much of God's face at the same time.
May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.
And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be upon you and remain with you forever.
Amen.
LH
4 comments:
That is quite a blessing. Mind if I borrow it for my Fall confirmation retreat?
David,
Absolutely! Use to your heart's content. I do love the wording, and the idea of restlessness or discomfort as blessings so that we may be spurred to do good.
Wow! That's cool! See, SD people do think of wonderful and thought provoking things! They even know about buying sheep. =)
Wow! We went through Wamblee this past weekend on our way to the Black Hills region. If I would've known about this maybe I could've persuaded my wife to stop, even if it was only for 5 minutes or so.
Anyhow, keep up all the good work! I'm Brian, btw. Trying to help volunteer at St. John's, in Seward (1/2 hr from Lincoln), and hopefully will be starting the DCE program at Concordia this fall.
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