September 11 prayer service

As I announced in an earlier post, I led a prayer service this evening in observance of the 9/11 anniversary. The initial impetus had been to provide a counterpoint to the much publicized Qur'an burning scheduled in Florida for the same evening. That event was cancelled, of course. (Thank God!—though it's unfortunate that the publicity has raised that man's public profile the way it has, a process in which I have been complicit.) But since that event had been a symbolic focus for a larger set of concerns, we went ahead.

About fifteen people came. I'd selected eleven mostly short Quranic passages to read; people read them aloud, with silence in between for reflection. Then I read a prayer I'd prepared, with periods of silence on the way in which other people added their own petitions. That all lasted half an hour, after which people sat and talked—intensely at first, then gradually the mood lightened and people dispersed.

I'm posting here the Quranic excerpts we read, along with my prayer. The renderings of the passages are my own, based on consultation of several English translations.

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In the name of God, the All-Gracious, the Merciful—

All praise be to God,
Lord of all creation,
the All-Gracious, the Merciful,
the Sovereign Judge.

You alone we worship;
to you alone we pray for help.

Guide us to the straight path,
the path of those on whom you have bestowed your grace. (1:1-7)

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God alone is worthy of worship,
the Eternal One, Sustainer and Protector of all that exists.

God revealed the Torah and the Gospel as guidance for humankind.
God revealed the standard for judging between right and wrong.

Surely, Lord, you will gather humankind together
on a day of whose coming there can be no doubt. (3:2-3, 9)

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Say: “O God! Yours is the kingdom!
You give the kingdom to whom you will,
and you take it from whom you will.
You honor whom you will,
and you humble whom you will.

All that is good is in your hand,
and you are able to do all things.
You cause night to pass into day, and day into night.
You bring the living out of the dead, and the dead out of the living.
To all whom you will, you give sustenance without measure.” (3:26-27)

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Speak of the wife of Imram, who said:
“My Lord! I vow that the child in my womb
will be consecrated to your service.
Accept this offering from me,
you the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.”

When she delivered, she said:
“My Lord, I have delivered a girl.
I have named her Mary.
In you I seek refuge, for her and for her descendants—
refuge from the Evil One, who was cast out.”
So with grace, her Lord accepted her,
and in grace, he caused her to grow.

Speak of the angels, who said:
“O Mary, God sends you glad tidings of a divine word!
He will be called the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary.
He will be honored in this world and in the world to come.
He will be among those who are near to God.
From cradle to adulthood, he will speak to the people
as one of the righteous.

“God will instruct him in the scriptures and in wisdom,
in the Torah and the Gospel.
God will make him a messenger to the people of Israel.
He will say: ‘I have come to you with a sign from your Lord.
By God’s will, I heal the one who was born blind, and the leper,
and I restore the dead to life.
I confirm the Torah, which was before me,
and I make lawful for you some things that were forbidden to you.
Truly God is my Lord and your Lord;
therefore worship God alone.
This is the straight path.’” (3:35-37, 45-46, 48-51)

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This is the truth:

Those who believe,
and those who are Jews,
and Sabians,
and Christians—
whoever believes in God and the Day of Judgment
and works righteousness—
all will have their reward with their Lord.

They will have nothing to fear,
nor cause to grieve. (2:62)

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You will not attain righteousness
until you spend what you love
in the service of God.

Whatever you spend,
God knows it. (3:92)

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You who have believed:
render to God due reverence,
and live out your days
in perfect submission to God’s will.

Hold fast to the rope that connects you to God,
and do not become divided.

Remember God’s grace—
how when you were enemies to one another,
God joined your hearts together,
so that by his grace you became family. (3:102-103)

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Have you seen those who live in denial of divine judgment?
These are people who turn away orphans
and who do not advocate for the care of the poor.

Woe to those who perform the motions of prayer
but pray without thought.
Woe to those who make a grand show of good deeds
but withhold simple assistance from people in need. (107:1-7)

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God, the Supremely Gracious,
the One who taught you to recite these words,
created human beings
and gave them the gift of speech.

Sun and moon follow the courses God calculated for them.
Stars and trees bow down in worship.

God, who built the heavens,
has set the scales of justice
so that you will know the standard
to which you must conform.

Therefore, let your scales be just,
and give the full measure of what is due. (55:1-9)

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O humankind!
We created you all
as descendents of a single pair.
We made you into multiple peoples and tribes
so that you may know one another.

Who is most highly favored of God?
Those who are most righteous.
God, the All-Knowing and All-Seeing,
makes no other distinction. (49:13)

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Who knows but that God will forge friendship
between you and those you regard as your enemies?

Surely he has power to do it—
God the Oft-Forgiving,
the Merciful. (60:7)

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God, the All-Gracious, the Merciful,
God of the whole earth—

It is good to hear your voice.
It is good to be in your presence.

We praise you for the many ways you have revealed yourself to us:
in the words of prophets,
in Jesus,
in the instruction we continue to receive from your Spirit,
in the words and deeds of people—family, friends, strangers—through whom you touch our lives.

We gather tonight in a time of division and fear and anger.
We are mindful that you have called us to be witnesses of your love,
which knows no bounds.

We are grateful and relieved that one hostile act directed against our Muslim neighbors,
which was scheduled to occur tonight, did not occur.

We are mindful of the continuing tensions that currently surround Muslim citizens and residents of our nation.
We are mindful of the terrorist attacks carried out in this country nine years ago today by al-Qaeda.
We are mindful of similar attacks or attempted attacks, here and in other countries.
We are mindful of the wars that our nation waged in the wake of September 11 in predominantly Muslim countries—Afghanistan and Iraq.
We are mindful of actions taken by our government in the name of waging a war on terror.
We are mindful of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and of our nation’s relationship with Israel.
We are mindful of tensions inside and around the Islamic Republic of Iran.

We are mindful that you have taught us to pray for our enemies.

We long for peace.
We long for safety.
We long for interreligious understanding.
We long for justice.

We pray for all who suffer because of religious conflict,
and especially for those who suffer because of the conflicts we have named tonight.
We pray for civilians,
for combatants and their loved ones,
for those in authority,
for refugees,
for prisoners,
for the wounded,
for the dead and the loved ones who survive them.

We pray for those who suffer discrimination,
for those who are objects of suspicion and hostility,
for those who are afraid,
for those who act out of prejudice,
for those who act out of rage,
for those who seek to harm others,
for those who are in danger,
for those who feel desperate and oppressed.

God of all wisdom,
we are tangled up in a web of violence, and fear, and complicity,
and it is very hard to see a way out.
We pray to you for help.

Show us how to build bridges.
Show us what we can do to mitigate fear and prejudice and hatred.
Inspire the leaders of the nations to find ways to bring about a just peace.
Plant compassion, and a zeal for peace,
in the hearts of all who speak in your name and desire to serve you.

Among those who call upon you
are people whom we regard as our enemies
or who regard us as their enemies.
Teach us and them—all of us—
how to serve you in truth and love.
Teach us and them
what we need to do differently
so that this world of oppression and violence and terror
can be transformed into your kingdom.

In Christ’s name we pray, amen.