Justification by faith

A litany for worship inspired by Romans 5:1-8

by Ken Sehested

Beloveds,

Fear not the times when your back is against the wall.

The seed of faith already buried deep in your soul

is enough to keep you anchored in the coming storm,

when all invested in the way things are

will rail against the Way that is to come.

Trust this Way even when the black-and-blues rain like hail.

The bruising will disclose your stamina.

Your stamina will attest your mettle.

Thereby the Buoyancy from Above will instill firmeza permanente

—relentless persistence—

to endure against all odds.

This, and this alone, is the saving grace,

the justification by faith,

for which your heart longs:

the grace in which your hands and feet rejoice;

the grace by which your ears hear the melody of Heaven

and the grace through which your eyes shall behold

the goodness of God in the land of the living.

Keep your mind stayed on the mercy

of God’s unilateral disarming initiative,

and practice that same mercy everywhere you go.

©ken sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Inspired by Romans 5:1-8. “Firmeza permanente” was the watchword of a theological movement begun in Brazil in the late 1960s, inspired in part by the civil rights movement in the US, emphasizing the theological basis of nonviolent struggle for justice.