'For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.'
At Lighthouse, we say these words together —
sometimes with confidence,
sometimes with doubt,
sometimes through tears,
sometimes out of habit,
sometimes with trembling faith.
We say them in the Crypt,
in the warmth of the Lighthouse family,
we speak them in St George's Church & Leeds Minster,
in voices sometimes hoarse from a lifetime of shouting at the world,
in whispers barely able to rise above the silence.
'For yours is the kingdom' —
not the kingdom of violence that many of us have known,
not the kingdom where power belongs to the abuser,
not the kingdom where money rules and the poor are ignored.
But yours, O God.
A compassionate kingdom of kindness,
where the hungry are fed,
where the wounded are healed,
where the lost are found,
where the last are first,
and the broken are welcomed home.
This kingdom belongs to God —
not to our shame,
not to our addictions,
not to the voices in our heads that whisper we’ll never be enough,
not to the systems that punish the poor for being poor,
not to the anxiety that cripples,
or the depression that drags us under.
This kingdom belongs to the God of mercy,
the God of justice,
the God who wipes away every tear,
the God who is in the business of reconciling all things.
'The power' is yours too, Lord.
Not the power of control or manipulation.
Not the power of fists or fear.
But the power of self-giving, sacrificial love.
A cruciform power —
the power that raised Jesus from the dead,
the power that will one day break every chain and heal every hurt,
even the ones we’ve carried for so long they feel like part of who we are.
And 'the glory' —
the glory does not belong to those who built their empires on our backs,
or to those who told us we were worthless,
or to the substances that promised heaven but delivered hell,
or to the diagnosis that seemed to define our worth.
The glory belongs to the One who stooped to wash our feet,
who walks with us through the valley,
who lifts our heads and calls us beloved.
'For ever and ever' —
this kingdom is not just for now.
It’s not just for Sunday afternoon when the coffee’s warm and the singing is sweet.
It’s for tomorrow, when the cravings come.
It’s for next week, when the depression crashes back in.
It’s for the long nights when sleep won’t come and the thoughts won’t stop.
It’s for the cold winter months when loneliness bites.
It’s for the end of all things,
when Jesus will wipe every tear from every eye,
and death, addiction, despair and fear will be no more.
This is why we pray it.
This is why we hold on.
This is why, battered and bruised as we are,
we dare to hope.
'For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.'
---
A Lighthouse Prayer
God of all grace,
when life feels out of control
and we are tempted to despair,
remind us whose kingdom this really is.
When shame tells us we will never change,
when anxiety locks us in,
when depression drags us down,
remind us whose power is at work within us.
When fear whispers that darkness will win,
remind us whose glory will one day fill the earth
like the waters cover the sea.
Yours is the kingdom —
a kingdom of mercy.
Yours is the power —
a power that heals.
Yours is the glory —
a glory that shines even in the darkest places.
So we stand, together,
brothers and sisters,
recovering addicts, those battling anxiety,
those living with depression,
those who are simply weary from the weight of life,
and we say —
'Yours is the kingdom,
the power,
and the glory,
for ever and ever.'
Amen.
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