by Will Willimon

News of the death yesterday of Sgt. George Alexander, Jr., from wounds received in Iraq, has prompted me to prayer. Sgt. Alexander, 34, was a graduate of Chilton County High and an Alabama native.

A Prayer for George Alexander, Jr.

Lord Jesus, King of Kings, Savior of the World, Prince of Peace, hear this prayer for George, son of Alabama, two thousandth American soldier to die in our war in Iraq. Receive him, we pray -- a lamb of Your flock, a sinner for whom You have died, a cherished and beloved Child of God -- and one who is at peace at last, because he is with You.

George had an Alabama boyhood, an Alabama youth, and Alabama dreams. I pray for his mother, for his family and friends, his church, and all those for whom his death means not only the ending of his dreams, but the beginning of their lifetime of grief and loss. Lord, help us to feel some measure of their pain. Save us from offering cheap consolation or patriotic platitudes in the face of their loss. Instill in our hard hearts a determination to work with You for a government in which we shall make peace as quickly and resourcefully as we make war, a country that loves Your righteousness and justice more than our security and power.

One and Only Way, Truth, and Life, give us the grace to live by Your Word rather than by our weapons. Lord Jesus, You never lifted Your hand against anyone, You refused to defend Yourself even when unjustly attacked, You resisted violence with peace and nonviolence, and You never, ever told us that war was the answer to anything. When will we move from worshipping You to following You?

Seeker and Lover of the Lost, forgive us of our sin of attempting to solve the world¹s problems through violence and war, forgive us of our willingness to once again allow old people like me to send young people like George to make war on others and to suffer and die to preserve our privileges, forgive us for loving our freedom more than Your peace, and for treating Your gift of life so casually. Give us, in our grief for our fallen daughters and sons, an equal amount of grief for the deaths of the twenty-five thousand Iraqi sisters and brothers in Christ. Grant us a miracle: that George be not only the two thousandth young American to die in this war, but also the last.

Judge of us all, I confess that I have not prayed enough, have not embodied Your truth enough, have not been critical enough of our political leaders, have acquiesced to the plans of the initiators and makers of war, rather than to join the ranks of Your blessed makers of peace. In Your name, and in heartfelt grief for the loss of George, and in bold confidence in Your coming Kingdom, I pray.

Amen.

http://mm.northalabamaumc.org/pipermail/bishopslist/2005-October/000039.html