O High Priest, who can sympathize with our weaknesses,

who had flesh-and-blood community of your own,

you point our eyes to the lilies of the field

and birds of the air

and remind us of your detailed care.

Are not our loved ones more valuable than they?

How marvelous that you have given us others to love.

But Lord, with this great love comes sorrow upon sorrow,

as we confront each other’s mortality

and bodies broken since the exit from Eden.

Remind us, Jesus, that for those who know you,

no sickness ends in death.

You always live to intercede for us,

so increase our faith to believe you do the same for our people

when we cannot.

Multiply our hours and energy to serve our families

with an attitude of humility and selflessness,

and help us to love from a place without fear.

For we know:

There is no fear in love.

There is no fear in love

There is no fear in love.

We ache for those far away,

whom we cannot embrace the way we want to.

We grieve for those we love who live alone,

whose tears we cannot dry with our sleeves.

We lament for those prone to sickness,

whom we ask that you anoint with your healing touch,

O God of Mercy.

We mourn for those precious ones who do not know you yet,

in front of whom we will continually exalt your praises and

serve and love ever deeper.

We rejoice in the knowledge that one day,

when sin and sickness and sorrow subside,

we will love and know each other as we are fully loved and known.

Until then, Gracious God, help us to care for our loved ones

wholeheartedly and freely,

trusting that the One who counts the sparrows

will hold them fast.

Amen.