Day Seventeen

Luke 4

24 And he said, "Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's home town.

25 But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah,
When the heavens were shut up three years and six months,
and there was severe famine over all the land;

26 yet Elijah was sent to none of them, except the widow at Zarephath in Sidon.

27 There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha,
and none of them was cleansed except Namaan the Syrian."

Come to the stranger in our midst;
keep us aware of your blessings

Speak to our fears,
loosen our tongues,
heal our hatred.

Pray for those who seek refuge and are incarcerated in detention centres. (Such as Villawood in Sydney and Maribyrnong in Melbourne.) For the those who need ongoing psychiatric care. For the people being deported back into danger.
But also (in 2008) with thanksgiving for the dismantling of the "Pacific Solution" as well as the closure of detention centres where many "strangers" had been placed indefinitely. Remember too those who are now in the community but are on temporary protection visas.