Let this breath be an insight into your glory
and this flesh be alive with your joy —
for who else is so powerful yet so merciful
as to be revealed through me for the sake of blessing?
It is the same One whose name is told through generations
and whispered in defiance of death and evil;
Let us name and mourn those who have died,
including Brandon Bernard, Casey Goodson,
Skylar Heath, Chae’Meshia Simms, …
It is the same One whose strength is levied against the proud
and the powerful for the sake of the outcast;
Let us confess our own pride and power used in harm,
and let us pray against those with hearts of stone,
those who are limited by selfishness, …
It is the same One who blesses the weary and anoints the wandering,
who invites the displaced and depressed into a year of favor;
Let us bless and serve the sick amid the injustice of medical care,
the poor amid the idolatry of capitalism and convenience,
the refugees amid the plague of xenophobia, …
It is the same One who remembers and remembers and remembers
the promised song of freedom even when the people forget.
Let us pray for the freedom we have not realized,
for the grace beyond our wildest dreams,
for the goodness that is unafraid.
Let this breath be an insight into your glory
and this flesh be alive with your joy.
on Luke 1:46b-55 and Isaiah 61:1-4