O Everlasting Light,
Mercy Mild,
Great Spirit,
Abba Father,
Mother Hen,
Lord Adonai,
Yahweh,
the Great I Am,
we turn to you, unknowable,
and yet in everything,
embracing us,
and embraced within us.
We are here, blizzard and cold,
everything bright white,
encrusted in a powdered blanket
that drifts and packs,
collecting on every branch and bush.
This crystalline blank slate prioritized
only what matters most:
just enough warmth,
just enough food,
just enough company
to make it one day to the next.
We need only this,
and some sort of pivotal divine encounter,
a deliberate mid-winter devotion in your presence.
So, draw near.
Draw near and shape us by your divine wisdom.
Draw near, enter in, and let your presence transform us.
Today, in faith, we stand in the ancient lineage
of Jesus, grandmother after grandmother
offering sustaining hope generation to generation,
and we realize that you come to us in the mystery
of Jesus who is for each and for all,
for those of us too young to be heard,
too old to be seen,
too lost to be found,
too sad to be cheered,
too overwhelmed to be at peace.
In you, we are heard, we are seen,
we are found,
we are given a sacred abundance,
an extra portion of unspeakable joy
and unprecedented peace.
With eyes wide open,
we know the realities of the world.
In so far as there is trouble and injustice,
hardship and embarrassment,
ignorance and pain,
struggle and uncertainty,
be with us.
Carry us.
Ground us.
Guide us.
Make a way forward.
Make a way through.
Use our hot exasperation at injustice
to kindle a new kind of peace,
one where love is more persuasive
than revenge,
where the everyday miracle
of summer sunshine and rain
becomes a winter loaf of bread
that can feed and change lives.
In a world where death and suffering and sorrow
seem matter-of-fact,
help us to write your dream into the world,
your peace fall upon us,
Make us whole.
And hear our prayer.
In faith and in hope, we lift up our hearts to you,
O God, with Jesus’ prayer…. Our Father…. Amen.
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