Breath of Justice, Come: A Prayer for Pentecost

Holy One, 

2,000 years ago your spirit descended upon our world in a new and brave way, 

and we called it Pentecost.

Awash in a breath of life, 

a breath of justice, 

a breath of hope, 

a breath of love, 

you called us, with tongues of fire and hearts aflame, 

to be your will in this world. 

On this Pentecost Sunday different voices call out but they are still your breath:

your breath of life, 

your breath of justice, 

your breath of hope, 

your breath of love 

and it is indeed you—through their bravery and courage and boldness—

through signs and protest

uprising and unrest, 

who call us, with tongues of fire and hearts aflame, 

to be your will in this world. 

May it be so Holy One—

May we call our local communities, our country, our leaders and our world, may we call ourselves, 

to justice, 

to righteousness, 

to peace, reconciliation and reparation.

May your breath of life, 

your breath of justice, 

your breath of hope, 

your breath of love, 

through bravery and courage and boldness that can only come from you—

move us:

through our hands and feet

our voices and our actions

not just our Facebook profiles and our tweets

but through our bodies and our hearts and souls.

May it be your Pentecost breath of love and justice

that leads the privileged among us to listen, 

to follow, 

to name our privilege 

to live into anti-racism and radical justice 

with Pentecost bravery, 

Pentecost spirit, 

Pentecost boldness

as we demand breath for all who cannot breathe. 

Amen.

Jamie Lynn Haskins is Chaplain for Spiritual Life at the University of Richmond and author of Acting on Faith: Stories of Courage, Activism, and Hope Across Religions

Photo by Arnau Soler on Unsplash