Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Veils
This day, O Lord,
Open our eyes
to the ways we disguise
that hardness of heart
that separates us from our brothers
from You,
from the persons we are supposed to be.
How well we disguise it
behind masks of righteousness,
behind good intentions,
behind the myriad ways we can explain away the fact
that we are not loving justice,
not acting mercifully,
not walking humbly with You
who show Yourself in our brother's eyes.
O Lord,
strip the veils,
crack the masks,
and let us see ourselves as we are,
standing naked before You
not worthy,
scarred and wounded by our failures to hit the mark
in need Your healing and transformation.
Lord, dress me anew in the white garments of Your love.
Help me release each one of those soiled and tattered veils I cling to,
transform me by Your loving touch,
this day and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Open our eyes
to the ways we disguise
that hardness of heart
that separates us from our brothers
from You,
from the persons we are supposed to be.
How well we disguise it
behind masks of righteousness,
behind good intentions,
behind the myriad ways we can explain away the fact
that we are not loving justice,
not acting mercifully,
not walking humbly with You
who show Yourself in our brother's eyes.
O Lord,
strip the veils,
crack the masks,
and let us see ourselves as we are,
standing naked before You
not worthy,
scarred and wounded by our failures to hit the mark
in need Your healing and transformation.
Lord, dress me anew in the white garments of Your love.
Help me release each one of those soiled and tattered veils I cling to,
transform me by Your loving touch,
this day and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Need for God
Monday, May 21, 2007
Standing in the desert
Here I am, Lord,
Standing in the desert,
Uncertain of the path,
Always, I am sure,
safely in your hand,
even as the dusty winds blow,
hiding my way.
As I walk through this valley
my view blocked by the mountains casting gray shadows,
I will not fear what those shadows hide,
for you are,
and have always been, my guide.
In my smallness,
in my uncertainty and pain,
I will cling to your promises,
this day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Standing in the desert,
Uncertain of the path,
Always, I am sure,
safely in your hand,
even as the dusty winds blow,
hiding my way.
As I walk through this valley
my view blocked by the mountains casting gray shadows,
I will not fear what those shadows hide,
for you are,
and have always been, my guide.
In my smallness,
in my uncertainty and pain,
I will cling to your promises,
this day, and always,
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: In the Valley of the Shadow, Need for God
Thursday, May 17, 2007
The Pain (revised
Lord,
the pain wraps around us,
throbbing,
throbbing,
like the rhythm
of a beating,
like metal on iron
of the hammer fall hitting nail,
piercing flesh,
going deeper
until it lodges in wood.
The pain,
oh the pain,
a woman crying out in the night
as her loved one is slain,
a man standing in grief
in the bombed storefront rubble,
a child shocked at the blood
from a slashed parent,
the armwrenching agony
as they hauled you with ropes,
arms nailed to the crossbeam
up up to the drop,
white pain electric
tearing through shoulder and arms
as the beam found the mortise,
like the pain of the tortured
screaming beneath their captor's hands,
crying out as the voltage
streams through their bodies,
throbbing the pain,
through heart and through body
the pain of being stripped here in public
of everything but the pain
and the stares of the gathered
as they gambled,
and witnessed with tears and with laughs,
waiting for the blood to fall
for the last breath to finish
like guards who kept watch
at a starvation ward
waiting for thirst to still his voice,
make an end to end his praying,
like nurses piling blankets high
to dehydrate the damaged
in the name of mercy killing.
The pain,
o the pain,
throbbing,
throbbing,
with each beat of your heart,
each hard sought breath,
like the pain of the deserted,
lost in the wild lands,
aching,
bereft,
afraid to stir out in the day,
afraid of what men would do,
victims they cower,
victims of terror,
victim of rape,
victim of hunger,
scurrying out quick by night
seeing their children die
with no way to stop it,
like your mother in pain
standing there
watching each breath you take,
afraid of the last one,
dying inside
watching your death.
O Lord,
the pain,
O the pain,
you wrapped yourself around it,
accepted it,
tasted it,
drank it down to the last dregs,
and bore all the burden
of man's too willing evil,
of man's dark inhumanity
down to the pit of death,
walking each step with us,
walking each step along with us,
and accepted that last, lone breath,
that would shatter the chain.
Lord, in our grief,
hold us,
and tell us
as we unite with you,
as we live for you
you live for us,
and when the pain,
the last ache,
the last throb
is over and done,
you will take us
to where pain is banished.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
the pain wraps around us,
throbbing,
throbbing,
like the rhythm
of a beating,
like metal on iron
of the hammer fall hitting nail,
piercing flesh,
going deeper
until it lodges in wood.
The pain,
oh the pain,
a woman crying out in the night
as her loved one is slain,
a man standing in grief
in the bombed storefront rubble,
a child shocked at the blood
from a slashed parent,
the armwrenching agony
as they hauled you with ropes,
arms nailed to the crossbeam
up up to the drop,
white pain electric
tearing through shoulder and arms
as the beam found the mortise,
like the pain of the tortured
screaming beneath their captor's hands,
crying out as the voltage
streams through their bodies,
throbbing the pain,
through heart and through body
the pain of being stripped here in public
of everything but the pain
and the stares of the gathered
as they gambled,
and witnessed with tears and with laughs,
waiting for the blood to fall
for the last breath to finish
like guards who kept watch
at a starvation ward
waiting for thirst to still his voice,
make an end to end his praying,
like nurses piling blankets high
to dehydrate the damaged
in the name of mercy killing.
The pain,
o the pain,
throbbing,
throbbing,
with each beat of your heart,
each hard sought breath,
like the pain of the deserted,
lost in the wild lands,
aching,
bereft,
afraid to stir out in the day,
afraid of what men would do,
victims they cower,
victims of terror,
victim of rape,
victim of hunger,
scurrying out quick by night
seeing their children die
with no way to stop it,
like your mother in pain
standing there
watching each breath you take,
afraid of the last one,
dying inside
watching your death.
O Lord,
the pain,
O the pain,
you wrapped yourself around it,
accepted it,
tasted it,
drank it down to the last dregs,
and bore all the burden
of man's too willing evil,
of man's dark inhumanity
down to the pit of death,
walking each step with us,
walking each step along with us,
and accepted that last, lone breath,
that would shatter the chain.
Lord, in our grief,
hold us,
and tell us
as we unite with you,
as we live for you
you live for us,
and when the pain,
the last ache,
the last throb
is over and done,
you will take us
to where pain is banished.
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Need for God, Passion of Christ
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Some Days
Lord, there are days when you seem so close,
Then there are days like today
When I feel alone and small,
and you seem dear, but so far away,
And I am clinging to your cross by my fingertips.
O how this world blows hard today,
Its dark heart like a storm at night,
Pushing me with its winds and rain,
trying to push me out of sight
Of the glory here at the foot of your cross.
And yet I know that as it tugs and pulls,
and tries to yank me loose with all of its might
It is I who must let go from your strong hand
It is I who must choose to go into that night,
For you hold me with an unbreakable tie.
You are my light, Lord, you are my home --
Where else can I go but to your cross
Even when the world buffets my heart and mind,
It offers no hope, but pain and loss.
Even when I do not see you clearly, here I make my stand.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Then there are days like today
When I feel alone and small,
and you seem dear, but so far away,
And I am clinging to your cross by my fingertips.
O how this world blows hard today,
Its dark heart like a storm at night,
Pushing me with its winds and rain,
trying to push me out of sight
Of the glory here at the foot of your cross.
And yet I know that as it tugs and pulls,
and tries to yank me loose with all of its might
It is I who must let go from your strong hand
It is I who must choose to go into that night,
For you hold me with an unbreakable tie.
You are my light, Lord, you are my home --
Where else can I go but to your cross
Even when the world buffets my heart and mind,
It offers no hope, but pain and loss.
Even when I do not see you clearly, here I make my stand.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Need for God
Friday, May 04, 2007
Fire
Fire,
Fire from above,
fire that burns the chaff away,
fire that refines the rough ore into shining metal,
fire that transforms darkness into light,
Power of the living God,
falling from heaven to consume the sinful city,
falling from heaven to totally consume Elijah's offering,
falling like tongues of fire and a roaring wind
to kindle in those gathered the fire of your love,
Spirit,
Breath of God transforming the world
touching our lives anew,
each day a new Pentecost
to those who welcome you.
Breathe in us, Holy Spirit,
and let us be transformed
by the power of your touch
by the power of your love
into children of the living God,
willing tools for you to use
as you renew the face of the earth.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Fire from above,
fire that burns the chaff away,
fire that refines the rough ore into shining metal,
fire that transforms darkness into light,
Power of the living God,
falling from heaven to consume the sinful city,
falling from heaven to totally consume Elijah's offering,
falling like tongues of fire and a roaring wind
to kindle in those gathered the fire of your love,
Spirit,
Breath of God transforming the world
touching our lives anew,
each day a new Pentecost
to those who welcome you.
Breathe in us, Holy Spirit,
and let us be transformed
by the power of your touch
by the power of your love
into children of the living God,
willing tools for you to use
as you renew the face of the earth.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Holy Spirit
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Shepherd My Heart
Shepherd my heart, O Lord this day,
In love's green fields where I might lay
By the still waters of your watchful care.
Shepherd my heart, O Lord - the way
I must go is a valley so gray -
Let the staff of your care be my comfort.
Shepherd my heart, O Lord, I pray,
And when darkness gathers at the end of my day,
May I dwell in your house forever.
Amen
Susan E. Stone, 2007
In love's green fields where I might lay
By the still waters of your watchful care.
Shepherd my heart, O Lord - the way
I must go is a valley so gray -
Let the staff of your care be my comfort.
Shepherd my heart, O Lord, I pray,
And when darkness gathers at the end of my day,
May I dwell in your house forever.
Amen
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Good Shepherd, Need for God
Friday, April 27, 2007
A Prayer
Lord, teach us to see with your eyes,
that light is light,
and dark is dark,
and that truth is not determined
by the whims of the times.
Lord, teach us to work with your hands,
honestly, in love, and knowing that the little we do today matters.
Lord, help us to act in ways that please you,
choose in our day to day steps the ways that honor you,
and shed your light with all we come in contact to.
Lord, give us the strength to stand tall
in a world that longs to pull us down into the dust,
to stand for the rights of the unborn and the vunerable,
to stand for virtue in a world that longs to call virtue vice,
and to answer the call to lead when you give it.
Help us to work for your light,
this day and always, Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Discipleship
Hope
Lord, when I least expect it,
you breathe hope into my heart,
like sight restored
to a man lost in blindness' night,
like the mystery of an empty tomb
and a gentle word to a grieving woman.
How often, in my grief,
and in my sorrow,
and in my feeling lost,
I turn around and see you there smiling.
O Master of all my tomorrows,
O Keeper of my today,
O Light Eternal,
You are my hope,
and I can only, amazingly, thank you.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
you breathe hope into my heart,
like sight restored
to a man lost in blindness' night,
like the mystery of an empty tomb
and a gentle word to a grieving woman.
How often, in my grief,
and in my sorrow,
and in my feeling lost,
I turn around and see you there smiling.
O Master of all my tomorrows,
O Keeper of my today,
O Light Eternal,
You are my hope,
and I can only, amazingly, thank you.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Jesus' Love, Praise and Thanksgiving
