Ken Sehested
Does Lent’s labor lead to serenity? Yes, but not to tranquility.
To be serene is not to be neutral and unaffected.
Such location clarifies our yeses and our noes.
As such, we might be marked as agitators,
of being incendiaries
of the social, political and economic prevailing consensus.
Rockers of the boat.
Disturbers of the peace, when peace is structured injustice.
Insurrectionists against current power arrangements.
Defectors from the rule of corruption.
The willingness to endure derision and contempt
for refusing deference and consent.
Mutineers against the rule of gangster banksters
And money manager puppeteers.
Throwing off the bondage of silence in the face of treachery.
Conscientious objectors to the reign of graft and bribery,
where the labor of the least fill the coffers of the privileged.
Being prepared, in advance, for the moments where we are
“caught between the longing for love
and the struggle for the legal tender.”
Fearless, persistent, attentive gaze even when
warned off and told to look away.
Fellow travelers in the great nevertheless
of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who,
threatened with the fiery furnace for not bowing
to the king’s golden image, said
“Our God will deliver . . . but if not, still we refuse.”
Lent is training in advance for the
sure-to-come threats
with nevertheless confidence.
“When peace like a river attendeth my way /
When sorrows like sea billows roll /
Whatever my lot,
Thou hast taught me to say /
It is well, it is well, with my soul.”
Inasmuch
as our lives
reflect Creation’s Intention,
so shall we be reckoned
in its Fruition.
To be serene is not to be
placid,
ripple-free,
but to be buoyant,
whether weather be still or stormy.
Walk on, pilgrim,
though trouble beset.
The Love of your life,
the deepest longing of your heart,
awaits in breathless anticipation.
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