Empty: Speaking to the Soul, March 30, 2023

 Philippians 2:5-11

Empty of all privilege and power, 
empty of all vanity and puffed up pride 
he arrives not as a great warrior 
astride a mighty war horse. 

Nobodies herald him, 
the collaborators yawn and snicker 
the authorities wave their hands dismissively 
-- for now. 

Empty 
not like the chamber of a gun,
not like a fainthearted suitor pleading his case
not like the scroll of years in a crosscut of a tree,
   rippling concentrically, 
         adamantly, 
                if finitely.
Not like the would-be tyrant’s vise-like grin.

Empty like a ledger wiped clean, 
power ceded so that love is seeded and sown;
empty like cedar branches holding the morning light 
already eons old.

Lord, make us empty 
the way petals unfurl like a fist unclenched 
the way a heart, unburdened, embraces hope 
so that we may stand in solidarity 
   with the least of the least 
   out of love with the stranger 
shedding all that holds us back 
   from embracing the dream of God for all
borne aloft on a rood of love.

--This was first published at Episcopal Journal and Cafe's Speaking to the Soul on March 30, 2023.

Prayer 2801: The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

Blessed Savior,
we gather to worship You,
to walk in your ways
that we may carry your light and praise.

Holy One, help us practice
the self-emptying Way of Christ,
that our hearts may be open
to be filled with love rather than fear,
with solidarity and community rather than division.
May we build up our hope
for the lifting up of those around us
suffering in body, mind, or spirit,
as Jesus gave us the authority and privilege to do.

Make us a blessing for others,
and our words align with our actions,
that we may live not for ourselves
but as children of God,
and God's radical dream of shalom,
for the glory of your Name, O God of All Creation.

May we be struck by your power,
O God of Mercy,
that the hard stones of our hearts
may flow with the water of compassion and justice
into the parched and barren places around us.

Grant your blessing upon us, Lord,
and upon all those for whom we pray.

Amen.