14 August 2014
Boothbay Harbor, Maine
A prayer for the dying and those who love them well...
Like the fiery bands of sun
Setting even now across the western lands
Of every nation, every people, every heart:
Look with kindness and grace upon
Dear friends tonight, beloved friends
Who step quietly, bravely, sweetly
Into the last light of day.
In the loving words of family,
Help the dying hear your invitation
To peace and rest, and satisfaction.
In the last breaths of this life,
Help them taste the promise and joy
Of resurrection and reunion, everlasting life.
In memories and fleeting dreams,
Help them treasure the precious presence
Of your grace, a constant companion
In seasons of darkness, light and rain-soaked sunshine.
Step boldly toward all who offer caring words,
And caring touch, and caring service in these hours
Of wrenching sadness and exhausting hope.
Touch their gentle and bewildered hearts
With holy memory and courage;
Animate their grief with tenderness and gratitude.
And make us all wiser and bolder in the faith
That every seed that is sown into the good earth,
Every life that falls to the sweet soil,
Bears in due time fruit, abundant and rich,
In hearts and lives and gardens loved and tended.
In the name of the One whose death is sown
In our hearts and whose rising is our inheritance;
In the name of the One who rises still,
To raise our brokenness to glory and peace;
In the name of Jesus, we pray.
Amen.
