Walking Among the Multitudes

a liturgy for navigating public spaces

As I prepare to go out among “the multitudes,”
I think of how You walked the highways
and byways,
rubbing shoulders with
and being jostled by
the people around You —
in markets, on city streets, in Your Father’s house.

You saw each one;
help me to see people within the crowd.
You knew each one;
show me the ones You want me to know.
You cared for each one;
give me a heart that cares.

I have my tasks and my agenda;
I lay these before You and ask for Yours in return.
Wherever I go, would You please go first?
Whatever I do, would You please do it through me?
Whomever I encounter,
would You please introduce me and,
when the time is right,
allow me to reciprocate.

Thank You for buses and trains and taxis
that get me where I need to go —
each one filled with people
You have made and love.
Ride the bus with me;
ride the train with me;
ride the taxi with me.
You came not to be served but to serve.
How can I serve?
In humility help me to consider others
as more important than myself:
being the last to get on,
the last to get off,
standing so another can sit,
waiting so another can go.

Is it possible for me to see them as You see them?
Is it possible for me to see them as You see them and my heart not break?
As You would if You were here
(and You truly are here!),
I want to look each one in the eye:
to smile, to nod, to greet —
to let each one be seen by me and by You.
May You reduce “the multitudes” to one,
and another one,
and yet another one.

Slow me down to look around and to be thankful:
Thank You for bringing me here!
Thank You for allowing me to walk
among these dear ones!
Thank You for the absolute assurance
that You go before and behind me,
that You are always with me,
and that You hold me by my right hand!

Amen

Further exploration

You can find a printable version of this liturgy here: Walking Among the Multitudes.

Post Author

Ed Peters has lived and worked in China for more than twenty years.

Series Editor

Erika McIntyre

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Image designed by Elaine Liu.