Pastoral Prayer
March 29, 2015
Chris Caldwell, Broadway Baptist Church

We live, O God, in a culture of endless empty chatter, a culture that says, “We hold this truth to be self-evident, that any person with talent has the right to be a narcissist.”

The vain proclamations of people in the spotlight envelope us. Though we flee to the highest mountains, their self serving pronouncements are there. Though we escape to the farthest places, their clever self promotion awaits us.

And it all erodes our spiritual health. For it all signals to us the importance of shouted sound bites, "full of sound and fury," which, truth be told "signify nothing."

In short, Lord, we live in a world constantly demanding we give import to the unimportant, that we value things at cross-purposes with our noblest values.

Where do we go to escape the noise of so much talk that seems to say nothing?
How, O God, do we escape the claptrap of name-calling and half-truths?

Perhaps, O God, you have granted us a step in the right direction by bringing us here to this sanctuary,
by setting before us the ancient words of scripture
by having us sing the words of revered hymns
and hear the words of humble prayers.

We give thanks that, here O Lord, you grant us quiet hope for our largely quiet lives.

It’s only natural we want to be a star on life’s stage, but in reality,

When we succeed, it is not front page news.
When we get bad news, it does not show up on CNN.
When we fail, we do not drop in the polls, we lose a friend or lose a relationship.

And so, Lord, we are glad you are not our director choreographing our lives on a grand stage,

Because that’s not where we live.

We are glad you are our shepherd, faithfully walking with us down life’s quiet paths, celebrating with us every victory, binding every wound, forgiving every sin.

Amen