Annie Dillard tells a story of a certain rabbi in her book on writing The Writing Life.  He would leave his home before prayer in case he was struck down after saying “Lord,” before “have mercy.”  His was a fear of the presence of God, the presence of the maker.  Today I sat through a presentation on the persecution, and massacre of Christians in Orissa, India.  I realized two things, man is capable of horrifying actions against other men.  I also realized that when we pray we invoke the presence of the creator whose image we are so capable of defacing.  We should not pray “Lord, have mercy” lightly.  As the Book of Common Prayer says in the communion service, “we are bold to pray…”  We should be thankful for Christ’s interceding on our behalf allowing us to pray, but we should be cognizant that we are praying while still tied into systems of destruction.

What we purchase, what we eat, how we live, all these things tie us into systems with a human toll.  I don’t persecute others explicitly, but our world is structured in such a way that I, as a broke student, cannot afford not to buy clothes made in Asia, and eat food grown in Central America.  I am implicitly responsible for a system (China) that persecutes all its nonsecular citizens in purchasing items manufactured there.  I am implicitly responsible for the semi-slavery of agricultural workers in the Americas.  I am tied into systems that devour people.

Facing these aspects of my life, with blood on my hands, I pray:

Lord, Have Mercy
Christ, Have Mercy
Lord, Have Mercy

Voice of the Martyrs: Persecution.net

*Turns out it wasn’t Anne Lamott, it was Annie Dillard, I realized when I pulled The Writing Life out of my backpack just now.  Sorry about the confusion.