Prayer.
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Vespers
To you whose face I've never seen
I draw now near
Among the shadows of
Remorse and hurt and painful memory.
To you I lift a wondering heart
Unsure down deep
If you will hear can care
At all or choose to simply turn away.
Yet still this heart of mine does gather
Strength to rise and press
Its case with you
O unseen magistrate
Or rushing wind or fiery principle.
Still it dares to stand and call Your
Name insistently
Although it cannot say nor even spell
What that name is.
It's evening time when sureties
Have passed away and
I am left in gathering dark
To speculate and pray
A God whose whereabouts seem
Less than certain in a damning
War-filled time.
God hear my prayer and heal my unbelief
And turn my steppings into faith and
If need be teach me to love or taste at
Least affection that is stronger than is mine.
March 10, 2003
Within a wall's thin hiding place
Within a wall's thin hiding place
You guard them well, all-seeing God:
This man, this child, who may not move,
Lest movement bring the waiting sword.
Across long years and oceans deep
Each life goes on and on to strive:
Build but to break, dream but to fall--
Yet still in nature hope derive.
See them by flickering flames of fire,
In soft-rubbed hand and lighted face,
In quiet moments find reprieve;
In gentle warmth a waiting place.
O God, despite war's sharp despair,
Despite cold hatred's harsh domain,
Love triumphs soft as, with a breath,
We loose at last your nameless name.
Come now you source of holy peace,
You who have stilled the echoing gun!
Free all the captive tears concealed,
Let them to you in freedom run.
Within these woods beneath this tree
Remember now each one, each child,
Each life hard-lived, returned to earth,
Laid quiet down midst flowers wild.
L.M.
October, 1993
For Kees Wichers and Peter Cornelius Wichers
Read aloud at the committal of PC Wichers in the Netherlands.
Epiphany
O Morning Star, shine bright upon me
at the beginning of this new year.
A pilgrim to the sacred,
guide me with your light.
Break into the shadowed places of my world
that I may see the course ahead,
and seeing, be moved
to clear decisions,
compassionate actions
and fresh resolve to embrace the impossible.
Epiphany 2019, Schenectady NY
Great Wind of God
Great Wind of God, move your child.
Strengthen me in compassion and truth.
Lift my voice in songs of praise and in words of witness
to your way of deliverance
and to your kindness.
Still Silence of God, help me listen for your grace.
Center me in you.
Cut through noisy and hostile voices.
Focus the agitation of my soul.
Calm my racing mind.
I am mindful of those far from me.
Bind me to them with your Breath.
Where any are held in prison cell or confined to hospital bed;
wherever children suffer
or the elderly are in danger of being forgotten:
carry me with you, Holy Spirit.
Slip with me through the cracks,
To break chains,
cut fences,
open hearts,
plant seeds of faith and courage.
June 24, 2018 Schenectady New York
To you whose face I've never seen
I draw now near
Among the shadows of
Remorse and hurt and painful memory.
To you I lift a wondering heart
Unsure down deep
If you will hear can care
At all or choose to simply turn away.
Yet still this heart of mine does gather
Strength to rise and press
Its case with you
O unseen magistrate
Or rushing wind or fiery principle.
Still it dares to stand and call Your
Name insistently
Although it cannot say nor even spell
What that name is.
It's evening time when sureties
Have passed away and
I am left in gathering dark
To speculate and pray
A God whose whereabouts seem
Less than certain in a damning
War-filled time.
God hear my prayer and heal my unbelief
And turn my steppings into faith and
If need be teach me to love or taste at
Least affection that is stronger than is mine.
March 10, 2003
Within a wall's thin hiding place
Within a wall's thin hiding place
You guard them well, all-seeing God:
This man, this child, who may not move,
Lest movement bring the waiting sword.
Across long years and oceans deep
Each life goes on and on to strive:
Build but to break, dream but to fall--
Yet still in nature hope derive.
See them by flickering flames of fire,
In soft-rubbed hand and lighted face,
In quiet moments find reprieve;
In gentle warmth a waiting place.
O God, despite war's sharp despair,
Despite cold hatred's harsh domain,
Love triumphs soft as, with a breath,
We loose at last your nameless name.
Come now you source of holy peace,
You who have stilled the echoing gun!
Free all the captive tears concealed,
Let them to you in freedom run.
Within these woods beneath this tree
Remember now each one, each child,
Each life hard-lived, returned to earth,
Laid quiet down midst flowers wild.
L.M.
October, 1993
For Kees Wichers and Peter Cornelius Wichers
Read aloud at the committal of PC Wichers in the Netherlands.
Epiphany
O Morning Star, shine bright upon me
at the beginning of this new year.
A pilgrim to the sacred,
guide me with your light.
Break into the shadowed places of my world
that I may see the course ahead,
and seeing, be moved
to clear decisions,
compassionate actions
and fresh resolve to embrace the impossible.
Epiphany 2019, Schenectady NY
Great Wind of God
Great Wind of God, move your child.
Strengthen me in compassion and truth.
Lift my voice in songs of praise and in words of witness
to your way of deliverance
and to your kindness.
Still Silence of God, help me listen for your grace.
Center me in you.
Cut through noisy and hostile voices.
Focus the agitation of my soul.
Calm my racing mind.
I am mindful of those far from me.
Bind me to them with your Breath.
Where any are held in prison cell or confined to hospital bed;
wherever children suffer
or the elderly are in danger of being forgotten:
carry me with you, Holy Spirit.
Slip with me through the cracks,
To break chains,
cut fences,
open hearts,
plant seeds of faith and courage.
June 24, 2018 Schenectady New York
And still you are God
A Prayer Response to Psalm 93
They say you are the supreme ruler, God.
They declare from their thrones that
you are robed in splendor.
I wonder what that means,
when, all around, princes and presidents
use your Name to justify their deeds,
“God on our side,”
each pretender claiming to be your Chosen.
And still you are God.
Looking around, I see your children
needing better overcoats,
lacking medical attention,
kept outside towering iron walls
laced with razor-wire.
And still you are God.
And still you are God:
Mystery robed in naked compassion,
Truth cloaked in ragged justice.
Your rule is Love,
Your majesty shining
in the eyes of every unprotected child.
And still you are God
among us in the most human way,
enthroned
not in the presumption of the proud
but in the passionate dreams
of the broken.
Your crown is made of thorns,
your scepter is a walking stick.
Your jeweled ceiling is the open sky,
your fortress is doors thrown open wide.
And still you are God.
Thanksgiving, 2018
May every breath I draw be love
God of water, God of wind,
I may not be very big, but I long to be powerful:
strong like the river of your love;
persistent like the winds of your change.
Immerse me in your spirit,
Help me emerge renewed.
Refresh me now,
Grant me light to glimpse your vision
for my life and for all your children,
for humans and for every living being.
May every breath I draw be love.
May my actions be filled with grace.
I pray in the spirit of Jesus.
Schenectady New York January 13, 2019, Baptism of Jesus