09 December 2008

Prayer for the End of a Good Long Day

The lights are still burning
here in this study where we have palavered,
You and I.

Schedules, announcements, task lists, meetings, reminders;
these, I had thought, were not the makings of this calling,
but rather the minutiae, the thoughtless means
by which I could excuse myself of responsibility.

"No," You said, "here is where the Holy begins:
caring words of gratitude,
humble invitation,
compassion,
grace.

"'Come and see' are the words through which
My Kingdom is come and
My Will is done.
The hand extended in welcome,
not the shoulder turned in contemplation,
so easily mistaken for rejection."

And here I kneel, in the presence of the Holy,
whispering thanks for these few moments of
abundant joy,
learning yet again
the wisdom so simply displayed
in my father's fields:
without plowing,
without sowing,
without weeding,
without watering,
without sunlight,
there is no harvest to be reaped,
and the world, and I,
shall go unfed.

6 comments:

  1. Lovely.

    Administration...Ad-ministry-ation. I have to remind myself of this daily.

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  2. This is really beautiful. Timely, too, but mostly beautiful.

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  3. Hey Scott,

    Thanks. I was called to the bedside of a member who is dying early this morning. Wondering as I drove over how I was going to fit this into a busy Wednesday, a busy week, a busy season.... Of course the Holy Spirit didn't let me sit there with my worries. But instead came, in the Holy Communion we shared, in the Word, and in the prayers and blessing we gave this man as he prepared to die. And I was reminded yet again that this is not my ministry, but God's alone. And the words you shared blessed me. Thanks.

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  4. Beautiful, so very beautiful.

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  5. lovely indeed...

    i AM doing very well. new life is a beautiful thing...

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  6. Thank you for this. There's something to be said for good long days, and too often for me that something doesn't come in the form of a prayer.

    Again, thanks.

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