Holy God,
One week ago, on the morning of April 15th, we celebrated the Boston Marathon which is itself a celebration of Patriot's Day; that day when the citizens of this region took action that would culminate in the birth of this nation. At this time, one week ago, our city and our nation were stunned as we were pulled once again into the reality of Evil's ugly presence. We were shocked, but not dumbstruck; we were rattled, but not stilled. We are grieved, but resolute that the greatness of our city and region will continue forward.
As our forbearers grew resilient in the face of oppressing tyranny, let us grow resolute in facing the tyranny of terror.
We grieve for the family of Martin Richard, for the family of Krystle Campbell, and the family of Lingzi Lu, in China. We honor the memory and the family of Sean Collier who died in the line of duty protecting the public. We also remember his buddy, Richard Donohue, Jr. in critical care at Mt. Auburn Hospital and for all those who continue to heal from the evil unleashed one week ago, in the hospitals of this city and in the homes of this nation.
We give you thanks, also, for the Good that was done one week ago. We saw Good in Action thru many uniforms that day: surgeons' scrubs, police blues, thru fire fighters and EMT personnel, National Guardsmen and other military, and thru Marathon runners. We saw Good in Action wearing a cowboy hat and we saw it wearing the regular, everyday clothes of our fellow citizens. We saw Good in Action as an entire city and surrounding towns cooperated with authorities and stayed out of the way as authorities did their job.
Dismiss us from this gathering with an appreciation for the importance of life and give us resolve as we see the days ahead, together.
In Your Holy Name, Amen.
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