prayer – Salt: Seasoned Theology

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse. (Isaiah 11:1)

In a season when tidy visions of peace can feel distant from real grief and fracture, this prayer seeks a more honest Advent hope.

God of Unlikely Beginnings,

The haze of snow globe panoramas
taunts our eyes-
wolves and lambs napping together;
calf and lion—
wild and domestic—
kicking up their heels in shared fields;
cows and bears nose to nose
munching grass honeyed by morning dew;
a baby in a manger?
kings bowing down in a barn
while sheep chew their cud?

Where amid the arrogant snarls
of a carnivorous world
do such wise ones dwell?

Guide us, God-child,
to your Advent arboretum.
Teach us how to refute
the death-dealing certainties of the axe.

Touch with your healing hand
what is raw, neglected,
discarded, dying in our souls.
Untame our spirits.
Stir undomesticated courage
in inner wasteland places.
Cultivate within our hearts
your improbable peace

Amen.

Virtual worship. What an unusual and intriguing phrase, one that has made its way into my everyday vocabulary. Covid-19 has not been able to stop faith communities from worshiping together in spirit and truth–in safe and socially distanced ways. Zoom worship windows, Facebook watch parties, YouTube gatherings, and more have become sacred spaces.

And I am impressed and energized by the diverse and creative ways religious leaders and communities are continuing to worship together.

Most intriguing to me has been how communities are keeping worship music alive. With determination and emerging technical skills, choir leaders, pastors, and musicians are learning create virtual choirs using a wide array of techniques and digital platforms. In spite of and through Covid-19, music lives on–in modalities that observe social distancing even as they highlight musical hopes and harmonies.

I receive these musical offerings as a gift of the pandemic. Some churches have been able to create musical ensembles with musicians from across distant geographies. How wonderful it is to experience new and unexpected connections in these uncertain times. My prayer is that we continue to unwrap this and other liturgical gifts of the pandemic season.

Inspired to experiment with technologies I am encountering in these days, I collaborated with musician and songwriter, Sally Ann Morris, and musician and singer, Sheila Hunter, to create this virtual ensemble. Sally Ann Morris wrote a musical refrain to accompany my prayer-poem. We had great fun working on this project. I share it here with gratitude for all musician and religious leaders who continue to inspire and energize their communities in these days.