Each one of us, O God, is burdened with the sheer weight of our private worlds: our health, that of a loved one, our jobs, our relationships.

Each one of us is living with the burden of a public world:  the hungry, the homeless children, injustice.

We know our need of you, for without you our private burdens and our public ones are desperate fury; our attempts to make changes are meaningless gestures.

O God, meet us in the wilderness of our daily lives. Let us see the bush of glory burn.  Bring us each to that deep place where we can say, “I and Thou,” and know with assurance that you are with us.

O God, You have given us eyes to see the light that fills this room, light for seeing the faces around this table. Now we ask, give us inner light.  May we see You here in our midst; see Your purpose for our lives; see the vision Jesus saw – all of us united as one in our reconciliation with You, and all of us filled with the Light of the World.

Amen.