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  "description": "A Prayer for the Week and Resources for Sunday, March 8, 2026",
  "path": "/for-empathy-during-a-time-of-war-letuspray/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-05T13:01:08.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.reyes-chow.com",
  "tags": [
    "subscribe",
    "LetUsPray",
    "The Revised Common Lectionary",
    "The Narrative Lectionary",
    "****Upgrade today****",
    "become a paid subscriber",
    "**RCL Year A:**",
    "**NL433:**",
    "Subscribe now"
  ],
  "textContent": "You are reading The Amalgamation, a subscriber-supported newsletter.\n****Please consider becoming a Free or Paid Subscriber today.****\n\n subscribe \n\n****Weekly #LetUsPray****\n\nI offer this weekly #LetUsPray as a way to stay anchored amidst the turmoil of the day. For paid subscribers (and last-minute worship planners), I also offer some liturgical resources and sermon prompts based on the week's readings from The Revised Common Lectionary and/or The Narrative Lectionary. Each offering is written on Wednesday and published on Thursday, allowing me to focus on current events or issues.\n\nSign-Up Today\n\nWhere to start? Honestly, I have had so many thoughts and reactions over the past week. Listening to the mental gymnastics the politicians are using to justify the attacks on Iran, seeing the complexity of reactions of my Iranian friends who are carrying both relief and wariness, and thinking about generational repercussions that have been put into play, I am exhausted.\n\nAs I have been discerning where to direct my energy, I have been thinking a good deal about my response as a Christian during this time. Far from a follower of a militarized, conqueror version of Jesus, I simply lean into the difficult challenge he makes to us all: love your neighbor. This is not an easy task to accept, nor is it a welcome lens with which we view our \"enemies\" of the day, yet this is our calling.\n\nIt is in these times when it is so tempting to turn inward or lash out that I am forced to turn to prayer: to comfort, to encourage, and to challenge me to be the human that I believe God intends. This week's prayer focuses on one of the attributes that I deeply believe Jesus modeled for us and calls us to embody, especially now: Empathy.\n\n### For Empathy During a Time of War #LetUsPray\n\n _Let us pray —_\n\n _God, we know empathy will not win this war_\n— _but it will instigate a future of peace\nEmpathy will not topple regimes_\n— _but it will liberate collective imagination\nEmpathy will not destroy weapons\n— but it will disrupt our tendency toward violence\nEmpathy will not solve generational hatred\n— but it will open us up to generational healing\nEmpathy alone will not guarantee peace\n— but without empathy, peace is not possible_\n\n _God, during this time of war\nwhen our government wants us to choose\ndestruction over discourse\nnationalism over faith\nand mercilessness over empathy\ngrant us the courage to choose Your way.\n\nWhen empathy is too difficult to mine from within\n— God, grant Your people grace\nWhen empathy causes chasms of conflict\n— God, grant Your people persistence\nWhen empathy solicits reactions bound by hate\n— God, grant Your people fortitude\nWhen empathy makes clear the holy within our enemy\n— God, grant Your people reassurance\nWhen empathy becomes exhausting and overwhelming\n— God, grant Your people rest_\n\n _And God, embolden Your people\nto live a life of unapologetic empathy\nin a world that would prefer it if we didn't_\n\n _For these things we pray_\n\n _— AMEN_\n\nPeace,\n\n****Upgrade today********: #LETUSPRAY****\n\nTo gain access to this and future liturgical offerings and preaching prompts, consider becoming a Paid Subscriber for less than $1/month.\n\n become a paid subscriber \n\n## LITURGY AND PREACHING PROMPTS\n\n#### Sunday, March 8, 2026: _Second Sunday in Lent_\n\n**RCL Year A:****** Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 95, Romans 5:1-11, John 4:5-42\n**NL433:** John 18:12-27, Psalm 17:1-7\n\n### This post is for subscribers only\n\nBecome a member to get access to all content\n\nSubscribe now",
  "title": "For Empathy During a Time of War #LetUsPray",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-11T17:30:24.621Z"
}