I have pre-ordered the new Claiborne & Haw book Jesus for President and am excited about it arriving on my doorstep along with a suprise book for my wife (in order to receive the Free Super Saver Shipping on Amazon).  And to brighten my day even more, I read that Paul Soupiset did the illustrations!  So cool!  I think before I read it I will hug it and caress it...

As a supplement to the book Claiborne & Co. wrote a beautiful and haunting litany for use in worship that centers on the themes of their book.  It is reprinted in full below:

Jesus For President Litany of Resistance
Created with the help of our friends Jim Loney (CPT Reservist) and Brian Walsh (activist theologian)
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One:  Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world
All:  Have mercy on us
One:  Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world
All:  Free us from the bondage of sin and death
One:  Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world
All:  Hear our prayer. Grant us peace.

One: For the victims of war
All: Have mercy
One: Women, men and children
All: Have mercy
One: The maimed and the crippled
All: Have mercy
One: The abandoned and the homeless
All: Have mercy
One: the imprisoned and the tortured
All: Have mercy
One: The widowed and the orphaned
All: Have mercy
One: The bleeding and the dying
All: Have mercy
One: The weary and the desperate
All: Have mercy
One: The lost and the forsaken
All: Have mercy

One: O God -- Have mercy on  us sinners
All:   Forgive us for we know not what we do
One: For our scorched and blackened earth
All:   Forgive us
One: For the scandal of billions wasted in war
All:   Forgive us
One: For our arms makers and arms dealers
All:   Forgive us
One: For our Caesars and Herods
All:   Forgive us
One: For the violence that is rooted in our hearts
All:   Forgive us

One: For the times we turn others into enemies
All:   Forgive us
One: Deliver us, O God
All:   Guide our feet into the way of peace
One: Hear our prayer. 
All:   Grant us peace.

One:   From the arrogance of power
All:  Deliver us
One:  From the myth of redemptive violence
All:  Deliver us
One:  From the tyranny of greed
All:  Deliver us
One:  From the ugliness of racism
All:  Deliver us
One:  From the cancer of hatred
All:  Deliver us
One:  From the seduction of wealth
All:  Deliver us
One:  From the addiction of control
All:  Deliver us
One:  From the idolatry of nationalism
All:  Deliver us
One:  From the paralysis of cynicism
All:  Deliver us
One:  From the violence of apathy
All:  Deliver us
One:  From the ghettos of poverty
All:  Deliver us
One:  From the ghettos of wealth
All:  Deliver us
One:  From a lack of imagination
All: Deliver us
One: Deliver us, O God
All: Guide our feet into the way of peace
One: We will not conform to the patterns of this world
All: Let us be transformed by the renewing of our minds
One: With the help of God’s grace
All: Let us resist evil wherever we find it

One:  With the waging of war
All:  We will not comply
One:  With the legalization of murder
All: We will not comply
One:  With the slaughter of innocents
All:  We will not comply
One:  With laws that betray human life
All:  We will not comply
One:  With the destruction of community
All:  We will not comply
One:  With the pointing finger and malicious talk
All:  We will not comply
One:  With the idea that happiness must be purchased
All:  We will not comply
One:  With the ravaging of the earth
All: We will not comply 
One: With principalities and powers that oppress
All:  We will not comply
One:  With the destruction of peoples
All:  We will not comply
One:  With the raping of women
All:  We will not comply
One:  With governments that kill
All:  We will not comply
One:  With the theology of empire
All:  We will not comply
One:  With the business of militarism
All:  We will not comply 
One: With the hoarding of riches
All:  We will not comply 
One: With the dissemination of fear
All:  We will not comply

One: Today we pledge our ultimate allegiance… to the Kingdom of God
All: We pledge allegiance
One: To a peace that is not like Rome’s
All: We pledge allegiance
One:  To the Gospel of enemy love
All: We pledge allegiance
One:  To the Kingdom of the poor and broken
All: We pledge allegiance
One:  To a King that loves his enemies so much he died for them
All: We pledge allegiance
One:  To the least of these, with whom Christ dwells
All: We pledge allegiance
One:  To the transnational Church that transcends the artificial borders of nations
All: We pledge allegiance
One:  To the refugee of Nazareth
All: We pledge allegiance
One:  To the homeless rabbi who had no place to lay his head
All: We pledge allegiance
One:  To the cross rather than the sword
All: We pledge allegiance
One:  To the banner of love above any flag
All: We pledge allegiance
One:  To the one who rules with a towel rather than an iron fist
All: We pledge allegiance
One:  To the one who rides a donkey rather than a war-horse
All: We pledge allegiance
One:  To the revolution that sets both oppressed and oppressors free
All: We pledge allegiance
One:  To the Way that leads to life
All: We pledge allegiance
One:  To the Slaughtered Lamb
All: We pledge allegiance
One:  And together we proclaim his praises, from the margins of the empire to the centers of wealth and power
All: Long Live the Slaughtered Lamb
One:  Long Live the Slaughtered Lamb
All: Long Live the Slaughtered Lamb

I will be breaking this litany up into sections and writing a meditation or short homily for it in coming posts.