Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2023عينة

# Singing the Lord’s song as strangers in the land ### Reading Ps 137:1-4 For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked us for mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” Lk 23:27-31 Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children ### Christian Unity Luke’s Gospel records that people, many of them women, follow Jesus even as he carries his cross to Calvary. This following is faithful discipleship. Furthermore, Jesus recognizes their struggles and the suffering that they will have to endure in faithfully carrying their own crosses. Thanks to the ecumenical movement, Christians today share hymns, prayers reflections and insights across traditions. We receive them from one another as gifts borne of the faith and loving discipleship, often enduring struggles, of Christians from different communities than our own.These shared gifts are riches to be treasured and give witness to the Christian faith we share. ### Challenge How do we raise up the stories of ancestors and saints who lived among us and have sung songs of faith, hope, and liberation from captivity? ### Prayer God of the oppressed,Open our eyes to the harm that continues to be inflicted on our sisters and brothers in Christ.May your Spirit give us the courage to sing in unison,And raise our voices with those whose suffering is unheard.We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen