Listen for the Voice of our Beloved

Listen! Listen for the sound of the Beloved, Who comes leaping upon the mountains and bounding over the hills. Strain your ears for the sound of this Voice.

Listen for the Voice of our Beloved!

Behold the Beloved, standing like a gazelle behind our wall, gazing in at the windows, looking through the lattice.

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Linger no more

Incline your ears, Holy Harbor of refuge.

Give shelter for every storm-tossed and wind-whipped mariner.

The great sea of discontent is unleashed against your armada of hope.

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Limb by limb

Repenting and repairing a legacy of violence against women

Men: Our hearts sag with sorrow when the history of such misery is unveiled.

Women: Such truthfulness comes at a cost. But worthy is the truth.

M: What good can come from such vile remembrance? Can we not safely and silently dispose of such memory?

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Life transfigured

It is good and proper to give thanks to God.
And to petition these gifts of the Spirit:
Generosity, the secret of wealth.
Reverence, the secret of risk.
Trust, the secret of fearlessness.
Pardon, the secret of power.
Obedience, the secret of freedom.
Laughter, the secret of longevity.
Rest, the secret of resolve.
Humility, the secret of wisdom.
Comfort, the secret of boldness.
Lament, the secret of hope.

Transfigure our lives, O Christ.
Beckon us to that day when
all shall linger ’neath their vine
and fig tree, and none shall be afraid.
Safe, secure from all alarms.
Leaning on the everlasting arms.*

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Inspired by Micah 4:3. Last two lines from the chorus of “What a Fellowship,” Elisha A. Hoffman.

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Let the slow times roll

If we fill our lives with things, and again with things

If we consider ourselves so important that we must fill every moment of our lives with movement and plans and calculations

When will we have the time to greet Messengers under oak trees, as did Abram? Or overhear improbable news, like Sarah?

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Let the lost rejoice

When power reaps death from countless
killing fields, and every war sows the seeds
     of the next, those in the Great Shepherd’s
           flock resist the bloodletting lure.

Let the mournful rejoice in the Lamb who
     rules, for the Tendering Day draws near!

Both lion and lamb are inheritors of the
     coming peaceful kingdom, but
           the latter’s sleep is the sweeter.

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Let mutual love continue

Let mutual love continue.

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them.

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Lent is upon us

     Call to worship
The season of Lent is upon us. Listen for your instructions!

Now is the time to flee Pharaoh’s national security state for the insecurity of the wilderness.

Now is the time to listen for the Word whose hearing bypasses the ears of princes and high priests but is heard only in the wilderness.

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Lean toward the land

Oh people of Promise, let your eyes arise to the
hills above the hollows, where a cleft is prepared
and your sustenance is proffered.

God will not let your foot be moved. Heaven’s
Sheltering Wing neither sleeps nor slumbers.

The MercyFull One is your keeper. The tree
of righteousness towers above you.

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Kyrie eleison

Kyrie eleison.

Lord have mercy.

Jesus said: “The one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”*

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