Issue 18: “Prayer”
"I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep."
Psalm 121:1-4
As we re-enter Ordinary Time, let us reflect on the great drama we have just reenacted together. In Lent, we considered what it means to Draw Near to the vulnerable just as Christ himself drew near to the sick and suffering. The Anglican Church around the world celebrated Easter; not just for one day but for fifty days we together practiced resurrection. On Ascension and Pentecost Sundays we remembered when Jesus returned to his Father and sent the Holy Spirit to be with his beloved Church.
No wonder Ordinary Time feels a bit less exciting after all that! But as today's poem reminds us, the Divine Drama is not yet over. Instead it is being worked out day by day in each and every life.
Be on the lookout! Where is God at work in your parish, family, and life?
We know He is at work. As the psalmist reminds us, He who watches over you will never slumber or sleep (Psalm 121).
Note: Like all poetry, these words are meant to be read out loud at least two times through. Find a quiet room (or a quiet heart if quiet rooms are hard to come by) and listen to the sound of these words making their way into your space.
Prayer
Written by Marie Howe
from The Kingdom of Ordinary Time (Norton, 2008)
Every day I want to speak with you. And every day something more important calls for my attention—the drugstore, the beauty products, the luggage
I need to buy for the trip.
Even now I can hardly sit here
among the falling piles of paper and clothing, the garbage trucks outside
already screeching and banging.
The mystics say you are as close as my own breath.
Why do I flee from you?
My days and nights pour through me like complaints
and become a story I forgot to tell.
Help me. Even as I write these words I am planning
to rise from the chair as soon as I finish this sentence.
Our mission at the Matthew 25 Initiative is to equip and sustain Anglicans serving alongside the vulnerable. The work of justice and mercy is often wondrous and also difficult. Holding beauty, naming pain, and contending for hope is what M25i does well. Walter Brueggeman writes, "A poem utters the unutterable and thinks the unthinkable." In places of brokenness, we encounter Jesus.
Looking for a soundtrack for finding courage in the ordinary days?
Listen to Contending Endurance on our Spotify!
