Counting Sparrows

This meditation was originally written in response to the tsunamis of December 2004 but has been revised for general use.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:29-31, NRSV)

What prayer can we say when
An unimaginable disaster comes
To our community,
Wreaking havoc, claiming lives;
And bodies are missing — never to be retrieved?

What prayer would make a difference
To those who remain?

So often we have been taught to pray to change things, to make a difference, to stop a tragedy.
But when the tragedy has already come, how do we pray?
Perhaps conventional wisdom about prayer must be laid aside.

When disaster abandons its heinous child upon our doorstep,
we are comforted by the knowledge that the same God who knows when
a sparrow falls to the ground knew and loved each of those who died.

Our prayer is one of remembrance:
We remember that those who perished are
More than numbers,
More than statistics,
More valuable than sparrows;
Each was a person of sacred worth created in the image of God.

Unison Prayer:

Loving God, we pause to remember all who perished in tragedy — both those who will be named and mourned and those who have no one to toll bells in their memory.

They were people who belonged to cities and villages, communities and places of worship.
With their neighbors and friends, families and loved ones, we pause to remember that you gave them life and loved them.
In our present helpless state, we are comforted to know that you know each person by name.
Lord, have mercy upon this earth and all who mourn. Amen.

Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. All rights reserved. Used by permission.