Prayers for the Marginalized
Who are the marginalized? Simply, those who live outside of your normal view. Today, think about a person or group of people you don’t normally see or encounter. Consider how did Jesus engaged with the marginalized people in his time, in his place. He not only loved the ones he came to save, he broke social norms, got dirty, stood with others at their worst moment, healed and forgave, healed and empowered. Jesus’ love is most vividly demonstrated when he is pouring out his love for the marginalized. Think and pray over the heart of Jesus as you reflect on these passages. Then, stand in agreement with the prayers of those who have gone ahead of us, paving the way for the marginalized to find hope, truth, and healing through Jesus.
The Samaritan Woman at the Well
John 4:1-42
Jesus broke social and religious norms by speaking with a Samaritan woman. He revealed Himself as the Messiah and invited her into God’s kingdom.
The Woman Caught in Adultery
John 8:1-11
Instead of condemning her, Jesus offered grace and told her to “go and sin no more.”He challenged the hypocrisy of the religious leaders.
The Bleeding Woman
Mark 5:25-34
A woman with chronic bleeding (considered unclean) touched Jesus’ garment in faith. Jesus affirmed her dignity, calling her “daughter” and healing her.
The Paralyzed Man Lowered Through the Roof
Mark 2:1-12
Jesus prioritized both physical and spiritual healing, forgiving the man’s sins before healing him. He saw faith in the marginalized, not just the religious elite.
The Man Possessed by a Legion of Demons
Mark 5:1-20
Jesus healed a demon-possessed man who was isolated and living among tombs. The man became a witness to God’s power in his community.
The Tax Collectors, Luke 19:1-10 (Zacchaeus) and Matthew 9:9-13 (Matthew)
Jesus dined with tax collectors, who were despised as corrupt and traitorous. He called them to repentance and transformation
The Woman Who Was a ‘Sinner’ (Anointing Jesus’ Feet)
Luke 7:36-50
A woman (likely a prostitute) wept at Jesus’ feet, anointing them with oil. Jesus honored her faith and forgave her sins.
The Poor and the Sick at the Pool of Bethesda
John 5:1-15
Jesus healed a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years. Unlike others, Jesus noticed the man and offered healing.
The Syrophoenician Woman
Mark 7:24-30
A Gentile woman begged Jesus to heal her daughter. Jesus affirmed her great faith and granted her request.
The Ten Lepers
Luke 17:11-19
Jesus healed ten lepers, who were outcasts due to their disease. Only a Samaritan, considered doubly marginalized, returned to thank Him.
The Blind Beggar (Bartimaeus)
Mark 10:46-52
Jesus responded to a blind man whom others ignored and told to be silent. He restored his sight and acknowledged his faith.
The Widow of Nain
Luke 7:11-17
Jesus raised a widow’s only son from the dead. Widows had no societal security, and Jesus restored her future.
The Woman Bent Over for 18 Years
Luke 13:10-17
Jesus healed her in a synagogue on the Sabbath, angering religious leaders. He defended her worth, calling her a “daughter of Abraham.”
The Criminal on the Cross
Luke 23:39-43
Jesus promised paradise to a dying criminal who recognized His lordship. He extended grace in a moment of extreme suffering.
The Prodigal Son
Luke 15:11-32
Jesus illustrated God’s love for those society rejects. The father’s embrace of the wayward son symbolizes radical grace.
Prayer Before the Prayer
by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu
I want to be willing to let go, to forgive.
But dare not ask for the will to forgive,
in case you give it to me
And I am not yet ready.
I am not yet ready for my heart to soften.
I am not yet ready to be vulnerable again.
Not yet ready to see that there is humanity in my tormentor’s eyes
Or that the one who hurt me may also have cried
I am not yet ready for the journey.
I am not yet interested in the path
I am at the prayer before the prayer of forgiveness
Grant me the will to want to forgive.
Grant it to me not yet but soon
Can I even form the words?
Forgive me? Dare I even look?
Do I dare to see the hurt I have caused:
I can glimpse all the shattered pieces of that
fragile thing
That soul trying to rise on the broken wings of hope
But only out of the corner of my eye.
I am afraid of it.
And if I am afraid to see
How can I not be afraid to say: Forgive me?
Is there a place where we can meet?
You and me
The place in the middle where we straddle the lines
Where you are right and I am right too.
And both of us are wrong and wronged;
Can we meet there?
And look for the place where the path begins
The path that ends when we forgive.
Let’s pray this prayer by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr:
Ever present God, you called us to be in relationship with one another and promised to dwell wherever two or three are gathered. In our community, we are many different people; we come from many different places, have many different cultures. Open our hearts that we may be bold in finding the riches of inclusion and the treasures of diversity among us. We pray in faith.
Archbishop Oscar Romero Prayer: A Step Along the Way
It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us. No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the Church’s mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities. We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own. Amen
Ephesians. 4:17-32, So I declare and testify in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds; darkened in understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance, because of their hardness of heart, they have become callous and have handed themselves over to licentiousness for the practice of every kind of impurity to excess.
That is not how you learned Christ, assuming that you have heard of him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus, that you should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.
Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun set on your anger, and do not leave room for the devil. The thief must no longer steal, but rather labor, doing honest work with his (own) hands, so that he may have something to share with one in need. No foul language should come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for needed edification, that it may impart grace to those who hear.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.
James 1:19-20, Know this, my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God.