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Thus says Yahweh, author and anchor of creation,
to the people of Promise whose memory has failed:

When you were but a babe, I cradled you. I swept you
into my arms and nestled you under my chin.

I suckled you and sang sweetly, cheek to cheek,
calming your restless hands and feet.

From Pharaoh’s deadly bargain I purchased your release.
Why have you grown tired of my attention?

What beguiling voice has led you into this wanton, wayward desert of destruction—back into the arms
of the empires of vanity and vengeance?

Shall I unleash my righteous wrath against you?
Can your trust be hinged on nothing but
Assyrian brute force?

Shall I now save you with my destructive anger?
Shall I release you to the pillage of national security?

Thus says the Most High and Holy One of Heaven:
My heart recoils at the thought of plundering you
in order to pardon you.

Instead, I will woo you. I will wait you out.

(Do you yet seek me to utter? A clue—look
for my Presence among the clutter.)

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Inspired by Hosea 11 & Matthew 7:7-8.

To what wilderness have you strayed, oh people of the Way? To what distraction have you tuned your ears? Have you not heard? To what diversion have you loaned your eyes? Have you not seen? Oh people of Mercy:

Sing chords of comfort to worried minds, tender songs to wounded hearts. Raise a song of gladness!

The One who established the foundations of the earth has not abandoned. The One whose breast has nursed you has not forsaken. Oh people of Mercy:

Sing chords of comfort to worried minds, tender songs to wounded hearts. Raise a song of gladness!

The ransom of enmity is paid! The hostile threat is answered. In God’s Mercy, the Bosom of Heaven has been restored. Oh people of Mercy:

Sing chords of comfort to worried minds, tender songs to wounded hearts. Raise a song of gladness!

Listen, and hear. Look, and see! The lowly places are raised. The lofty places erode. The stumbling paths are smoothed and the precipice is secured. The Fresh Breath of Heaven fills the air. Breathe deeply, oh people of Mercy:

Sing chords of comfort to worried minds, tender songs to wounded hearts. Raise a song of gladness!

Singing: Alleluia, alleluia, joy to every heart.

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Inspired by Isaiah 40.

The Rock of the Righteous is our God:

Who marks the boundaries between justice and vengeance;

Who blazes the Way from enmity to peace;

Who causes the wicked to stumble in their folly

But protects the weak against howling storms of contempt.

Oh, Strong Refuge, incline your ear to the clamor of children and all of weary voice.

Hasten now, all you whose life is spent with sorrow, you of bone-wasting days, of sighing weeks and storm-tossed years,

You who endure contentious tongues, threatened by gangsters and banksters of every sort,

Come to the Sheltering Presence of the One who knows,

The One who tapes your photo to Heaven’s refrigerator door,

The One who rekindles in you the gift of love on the wings of a dove.

Thou who hast by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path, we pray.

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Inspired by Psalm 31 and lyrics to “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

By the Word of Truth we are nursed and nestled.
We are cradled, caressed, and sanctified.

But the Word of Truth is more than flapping
tongue, more than motoring mouth, more than
syllable after endless sentence designed to
deceive and disguise and delude.

Not just comfort of soul does the Truth convey:
It embeds the mandate of earth’s redemption.
All who are bound by liberty’s law are pledged to
           Insurrection’s promise:
                 its covenant with widows,
                 its assurance to orphans,
                 its welcome to strangers and aliens.

Until the tongue can substitute for legs, use your feet
to do the Truth and walk its Way.

            But know this:

Doing the Truth may raise blisters
on your feet, calluses on your hands,
           sweat running down
     from forehead to finger.

Yet still, by the Word of Truth does
     the Beloved provoke.
May such Light dark’s dominion eclipse.

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Inspired by James 1:17-27.

By pardon ruled, by praise renewed, let every mouth confess.

That Christ was raised and death subdued to heal, redeem and bless.

Oh happy day when hearts unfold to grace and mercy’s might.

No more can mortal grief constrain the realm of God’s delight.

Establish, then, thy Reign of Peace, with justice manifest.

Unravel all deceit—and shame!—‘til earth receive its rest.

Come, Font of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace.

Thy never-ceasing mercy drying tears on every face.

Come, all who forfeit vengeance vile, your future is secured

Against death’s threat and all regret, a Promised Land assured.

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org.

As we enter this new millennium
we reaffirm our abiding conviction
     that the God of Scripture manifests
     special concern for the cries of the poor:

Of the marginalized, the outcast, indeed
all who have no access to the table.
     We also believe that if the people
     of God are to be faithful to our calling

We will locate ourselves in compassionate proximity
     to those whose lives are battered, bruised and broken.

We do so not as an ethical demand
or a work of righteousness
     but as a spiritual discipline.

For we believe that God’s presence and voice
are most easily recognized and understood
     in situations where life has been abandoned

And hope is in retreat,
     where death is on the prowl and despair rules.

We testify to the Spirit’s plea to
the church and to the world:
     Disarm your hearts!

Repent of your habits of violence and injustice;
     return to the One who bore you in mercy.

Rebuild ruined neighborhoods;
     restore marginalized peoples.

Resume the politics of forgiveness
     and an economy of manna.*

Revive an ecological relationship with the created order,
     reject the escalating culture of violence,

and renew your commitment to
     building a culture of peace.

            We lift our hearts to you, O Christ.
           Make us instruments of your peace.

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. This poem excerpted from the January 2000 statement from the International Baptist Peace Conference in Melbourne, Australia, drafted by Ken Sehested. *Sufficiency.

In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the season of Lent is described as a “bright sadness.”

In the sadness that surrounds our lives, our community, our world, we give thanks, nevertheless. More is at work than we can see.

Lent is a time for clearing and cleansing. Dustballs happen.

In the midst of life’s crippling failures, we still give thanks. In the midst of Fox News’ deceptions, we still give thanks. Nevertheless, nevertheless.

Lent is a time for checking appetites. Longings and desires, created for pleasure in God’s bountiful creation, have come unleashed.

Nevertheless, the bright sound of earth’s promise brings joy to our lips. Tether us anew to your Provision.

During Lent we follow Jesus into the desert, grappling with the distorted longings and lusts that corrupt the world and even our own hearts.

Even so, more is at work than we can see. The Spirit is not quenched. How can I keep from singing!

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Inspired by the hymn “How Can I Keep From Singing.”

O Breath of Heaven and Earth’s Delight, to your shelter we flee from enmity’s fright.

Incline your ear to each whimpering voice collapsed by the weight of earth-splitting fear.

O Rock of Ages, refuge of sages, deflect every threat of sin-soaked rages.

From murderous scheme and unraveling seam deliver from slavery to freedom’s bright dream.

Let not the work of Creation’s good pleasure be subject to plundering, pillaging measure.

Speak pardon to injury; mercy to adversity; entreat us and greet us with grace-filled audacity.

’Twas your hand that caught us, squalling glee with our lung when, from mother’s full womb, we emerged: Praise be sung!

Unbind us, remind us, entwined as we are with joy, adoration, dark night’s guiding star.

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Inspired by Psalm 71.

Jump for joy, oh people! For amid the screaming commercials and blithering campaign ads, the Redeemer has heard our aching voice.

God hears! God knows! This is our assurance against all blistering deceit.

When misery and madness encompassed me, when anguish threatened to undo me, when heartache split my soul, I uttered my cry to any who would hear.

God hears! God knows! This is our assurance against the rule of regret.

The One who extends Presence into the most desolate region—even to the place of utter abandonment—is mighty in mercy, strong in tenderness, powerful in pardoning.

God hears! God knows! This is our assurance against every heart-battering threat.

Relax, oh my soul, in the arms of the One who dries tears, Who swaddles our fretful limbs, Whose light in the night scatters dragons, and Whose promise is bounty and abundance.

God hears! God knows! This is our assurance against the ravages of fear. Therefore we will praise that Unspeakable Name forever.

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Adapted from Psalm 116:1-9.

In every age frenzied and fretful people align themselves against the Sovereign’s provision, flailing in fear, terror-tempted, hoarding-handed, proclaiming my life is my own and none have a claim, on earth or in heaven.

Grant, O God, in such an age, that your servants will not cower in the face of such threats, but announce Heaven’s hospitable terms for earth’s healing and wholeness.

O Holy Spirit, bold and unbounded, marking Messiah and every messenger of redemption, work again your signs and wonders amid this circle of mercy.

Shake us, remake us as salvaging agents, mending and tending earth’s wreckage and ruin.

Signs and wonders, unleashed in our midst!

Healing earth, hailing heaven, rejoicing evermore!

©Ken Sehested @ prayerandpolitiks.org. Inspired by Acts 4:24-31.