How Long, O Lord?

How long, O Lord,

Will sea levels rise?

How high, O Lord,

Will sea levels rise?

Before you step in and save and rescue?

How long, O Lord,

Will temperatures rise?

How much drought? How many famines?

Before you step in to save and rescue?

How long, O Lord,

‘Till extinctions cease?

How many will be lost? How many species?

Before you step in to save and rescue?

Will Bangladesh be no more?

Or will Doha,

Abu Dhabi, and

Bandar Abbas

Be uninhabitable due to extreme heat?

Will the Amazon Rainforest be lost?

Will the Oceans be unable to sustain life?

How long, O Lord,

Will unrestrained capitalism

Rampage and pillage your good world?

How long, O Lord, before you step in and bring it to its knees?

Must we wait ‘til mass starvation?

Must we wait ‘til mass migration?

Must we wait ‘til societal collapse?

When will Justice rise up and sweep away oppression?

When will Love triumph over selfish individualism?

When will Healing spring forth for the nations?

How long, O Lord, how long?

And yet, O Lord, in our lament, we hear a cry.

We hear a cry from the forests,

From the oceans and the Arctic

We hear a cry from the vulnerable and the endlings,

From the hungry and the refugee.

.

The cry began as a whisper,

Falling silent on a sleepy church.

The cry turned into an echo,

Reverberating through the walls of empty churches.

The cry gains strength,

Joining the cry of a myriad of angels.

Come Lord Jesus!,

Let thy kingdom come.

Come Lord Jesus!

Drive back the darkness.

I hear a reply from heaven,

From the throne room of the great King.

I hear a reply from heaven,

From the one whose hands were pierced.

I hear a reply from heaven,

From the wild goose of love.

Awake O Church!

Let my world be blessed.

Awake O Church!

Swing wide the doors.

He speaks,

'You are my hands and feet,

My covenantal kingdom community,

You are called to be salt and light.

Execute justice,

stand up for the rights of the oppressed,

Afflict not the stranger.’

Blessed are the peacemakers.

And the Crucified and risen King says,

‘Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’

Amen

Amen

Amen