“Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not-too-distant tomorrow, the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all of their scintillating beauty."
Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from the Birmingham Jail
O God of light,
Shine,
Shine,
Shine.
Amen
TATTERED
Together we mourn
O Lord
Have mercy
Amen
EPIPHANY
The light shines in the darkness
And the darkness has not overcome it.
May the light of Christmas
Continue to brighten the dark corners
Of our world
Our communities
And our lives.
Alleluia.
Light shines!
Amen
Happy Epiphany
Mark 1:5
EMERGING
O God
So very near
All around us
You speak
Sacred space
Shining truths
Light emerging
Voices speaking
And from our lips
Here am I
Here am I
Here am I
In this chorus
I hear
Your love
Amen
SPEAKING
SPEAKING
It’s hard to listen
In the midst of a mess
Noise
That we’re not really listening to
Distractions
That we look at
But don’t really see
Squirrel!
You name it
Our attention is so easily averted
And in the midst
Sometimes in the distance
When we lean into grace
We can catch a glimpse of you
We’re not always listening
But still you speak
We’re not always watching
But still love enters
O God
In this time
In this place
May we pause
And listen
For love
Is coming
And O heavens
We don't want to miss it
Amen
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts. Psalm 85:8
CLEARING
There is such power
In space
Clarity
Free from debris
That obstructs our views
Unoccupied by stuff
That demands too much attention
A holy emptiness
That invites and says
Come For in the vastness
There is room to be and breathe
Come
For in this place
Light and love will delight in dance
Come For in this space
A new thing will be born
And its name will be love.
Amen
REVEALING
Waiting
In line again
Didn't think it'd come to this
Not me
But the shop closed
How to put food on the table
We made it for a while
But we ran out
Its horrible
Hunger and short tempers
The line grows longer each week
Today it wraps around the block
I’m not alone
But it’s so hard to be here
Hiding behind this mask makes it easier
My identity hidden
Waiting for another load
6 feet apart
Waiting for the stimulus check
They have no idea
Waiting through a dark winter
So cold
This will be a long wait.
Restore us O God
Let your face shine
That we may be saved.
Amen
ADRIFT
Today's sketch prayer is inspired once more by Emily M. D. Scott's new book For All Who Hunger. Its beautiful stories tell of giving birth to St. Lydia's church in Brooklyn, and the powerful practices of church over dinner.
"In a city of glimmering lights and cracked sidewalks, every soul, whoever they may be, in an unguarded moment when their children are sleeping in bed, or when they hear the subway rumble deep underground, or when they catch sight of the skyline pink and flushed at twilight, will allow the brusque manner or affected laugh to slip away from their shielded hearts and remember, as if in a dream, that there is something they are searching for that they have not yet found.
They know that the rope has frayed and snapped, and that they, just like me, are in their own small wooden boats, lost on the sea.
I couldn’t bear to feel like we were drifting away from each other, carried apart on the deep. So I set tables, hoping we could all find our way home."
Emily M. D. Scott
And my sketchprayer in response
Thank you, God
For holy voices
Calling again and again
Helping us all
To find our way home.
Amen
#ForAllWhoHunger
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/…/for-all-who-hunger-by…/
BETWEEN
Today's sketch prayer is Inspired by Emily Scott's new book For All Who Hunger. Its beautiful stories tell of giving birth to St. Lydia's church in Brooklyn, and the powerful practices of church over dinner.
"When I think of what our church made together, I think of those small beacons of light reminding you that even if you haven't found it yet, there is a shore somewhere, and you won't drown in these depths." Emily M. D. Scott
And my sketchprayer in response:
Hold us O God
When we find ourselves
Between
Becoming something new
Almost
But not yet.
Bless us with an expansive view of vast possibilities
Beyond imagination
But also a safe space
From which to find our way.
Amen
#ForAllWhoHunger
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/612032/for-all-who-hunger-by-emily-m-d-scott/
FIREFLIES
Thanks God
For unexpected delights
In the form of
Sparkling lights
Twinkling in the grasses.
Ah
The magic of summer.
Amen
SIGNIFICANT
On this summer solstice day O God
I’m thinking about our earth, our place on it, and the larger cosmos that we’re a part of.
Astrophysicists are amazing people -
Acute observers of the universe,
Reading and carefully mapping our past and our future.
Yesterday during an awe-inspiring lecture
I witnessed a dramatic telling of our context as revealed on a logarithmic map of the universe.
Oh my.
We journeyed from the Earth’s core out to the Earth’s surface, the International Space Station, the Hubble Telescope, other satellites orbiting the Earth, the moon, the sun, planets, asteroids, distant stars, black holes, pulsars, other galaxies, quasars and cosmic microwave radiations, out to the edge where the universe becomes opaque.
Opaque.
The place where any potential intelligent life is so far away that it will never know that we exist.
It will never know we exist.
But I am.
I breathe,
I love,
Though I am too small for this map.
I stand on this Earth,
But this Earth is mapped as a tiny spec.
We travelled the map through the universe from core to edge in 5 minutes,
A scale at which this moment, this now, cannot be captured,
It's duration not mappable.
What then of me?
Of this earth?
Of this sun that shines on us for so long on this solstice day?
May I recall today that I am yours,
Me and all around me -
We are yours.
This earth is yours,
And all that we see and touch, taste and smell is yours.
And this glorious warming sun is your gift -
Your gift to this ever-expanding universe that you are creating in our midst.
In our midst,
Below our noses
And within us,
Your creative power astounds.
May I delight in all that I have the gift of experiencing
In the space and time of this day,
Knowing that I matter.
We all matter.
It all matters
Deeply
To you.
Amen
FYI
Here’s the map we scrolled up in 5 minutes: https://www.astro.princeton.edu/universe/all100.gif
Many thanks to the magi project http://www.themagiproject.org/2019
And here’s a mind-blowing scale model of our solar system that clarifies the distortions of every map we studied in school. A short video shot in the Nevada desert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj4524AAZdE
SHEPHERD
Guide us O God
Not to want more than we need
But to long for love
Love so powerful
So compassionate
Love that can change the world.
Yes, O shepherd.
May we long for that
Simply hearts overflowing with love
That changes the world.
Amen
WONDER
And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1
O Creator God,
How you amaze!
Bugs that can jump 10 times as high as their length!
A species 250 million years old
Accelerating at a rate of 20G!
As we celebrate our earth,
Remind us to pause
To notice
To explore.
May you find us standing
In awe and wonder
Saying
Wow
It is so very good.
Thanks be to God!
Amen
ALLELUIA
On this night, we gathered,
we waited and watched.
Our stories were woven together
with those of your saints of every time and every place.
On this night, earth met heaven.
On this night, humanity met divinity.
And your love, dear God, dawned anew,
stretching out for all your people.
We pray that your love is born again in our hearts,
our homes, our cities
and in all countries around the world.
With gratitude, we sing Alleluia!
May a new day dawn for us all. Alleluia indeed!
Amen
From Open Our Hearts: Daily Prayers for Lent and Holy Week, Ann Gerondelis Author, Wild Goose Press 2018
OVERFLOWING
In the days ahead
O God
May you find us
Standing breathless
Awed by unexpected beauty
Moved by acts of compassion
Touched by tender love
Humbled by grace.
May devoted hearts overflow with
A love so generous
Love beyond measure
Love for all your people
Courageous
Honest
Powerful love
That alone
Can change the world.
Amen
TENDING
HOLY
O Lord,
In your mercy beyond measure,
Hear the cries of your people.
O Lord,
Hear our prayer.
O Lord,
Hear all our prayers.
Amen
In response to the mass shootings this weekend in mosques in Christ Church, New Zealand.
ANGELS
In the week ahead
We ask that you
Open our eyes
To angels in our midst
O God
For we are surrounded by your messengers
And we long to hear their voices
Calling our names
Inspiring us
With compassion
And love enough for all
Each and every one.
Amen
MARKED
Marked
How grateful we are, O God,
that you call us,
that you claim us,
and that you mysteriously mark us in love.
We, your people - grateful indeed.
Amen
from Open Our Hearts: Daily Prayers for Lent and Holy Week, Wild Goose Publications 2018. ionabooks.com
Connect
"Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they can not communicate; they can not communicate because they are separated." MLK Jr
Why are we so afraid God,
Building these walls around us?
Brick by brick
We carefully construct illusions of protection.
We grow distant,
Hidden,
Alone.
Protected and safe.
No uncertainties.
No pain.
No gripping fear to keep us up at night.
No surprises.
No connection.
No glimpse of all that you are creating for us, O God.
This MLK day
We ask you to call us back to you.
Hear our prayers, even in the midst of suspicions of difference.
Nudge us to grow confident in standing shoulder to shoulder
Discovering together the power of the Beloved Community that you are calling us to become.
Lift the walls that separate us,
and give all your people that glimpse of a brighter tomorrow, O God.
Grant us the strength and the courage to work with each other and for each other,
Together
With you.
Amen
