When Brothers Dwell in Unity (Artful Devotion)

Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!

It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!

It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
life forevermore.

—Psalm 133

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SONG: “Together (Psalm 133)” by James Zeller | Performed by David Potter, on The Good Life by the Psalter Project (2017)

For more info on Walker’s mural, see my review of Painting the Gospel.

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This weekend we witnessed how bad and destructive it is when brothers dwell in disunity. For congregations seeking resources for responding prayerfully to the racist attack carried out in Charlottesville, Virginia, Rich Villodas has written a litany:

Leader: Lord Jesus, your Kingdom is good news for a world caught in racial hostility. We ask that you would give us grace for the deep challenges facing our country.

 

Congregation: O Lord, only you can make all things new.

 

Leader: Lord, we confess our anger, our deep sadness, and our collective sense of weakness to see this world healed through our own strength.

 

Congregation: O Lord, only you can make all things new.

 

Leader: Lord, we honestly confess that our country has a long history of racial oppression, that racism has been a strategy of evil powers and principalities.

 

Congregation: O Lord, only you can make all things new.

 

Leader: Lord, we confess that the gospel is good news for the oppressed and the oppressor. Both are raised up. Both are liberated, but in different ways. The oppressed are raised up from the harsh burden of inferiority. The oppressor from the destructive illusion of superiority.

 

Congregation: O Lord, only you can make all things new.

 

Leader: Lord, we confess that the gospel is your power to form a new people not identified by dominance and superiority, but by unity in the Spirit.

 

Congregation: O Lord, only you can make all things new.

 

Leader: Lord, we ask that you would help us name our part in this country’s story of racial oppression and hostility. Whether we have sinned against others by seeing them as inferior, or whether we have been silent in the face of evil. Forgive us of our sin.

 

Congregation: O Lord, only you can make all things new.

 

Leader: Lord, we pray for our enemies. For those who have allowed Satanic powers to work through them. Grant them deliverance through your mighty power.

 

Congregation: O Lord, only you can make all things new.

 

Leader: Lord, we ask that you would form us to be us peacemakers. May we be people who speak the truth in love as we work for a reconciled world.

 

Congregation: O Lord, only you can make all things new.

 

Leader: Lord, we commit our lives to you, believing that you are working in the world in spite of destructive powers and principalities. Bring healing to those who are hurt, peace to those who are anxious, and love to those who are fearful. We wait for you, O Lord. Make haste to help us.

 

Congregation: O Lord, only you can make all things new.

This post belongs to the weekly series Artful Devotion. If you can’t view the music player in your email or RSS reader, try opening the post in your browser.

To view all the Revised Common Lectionary scripture readings for Proper 15, cycle A, click here.