prayer – Salt

An Easter REsurrection Reflection

Risen.
See? The tomb is empty.
A stone rolled away.
A hollow husk.

Risen.
See? This emptiness fills us.
We taste “alleluia” on parched lips,
praise springs forth.

Risen.

What does a stone rolling away sound like?

Love.

The laughter of one set free.

Joyful weeping.

Unburied alleluias.

God of hollowed-out husks and empty tombs,

We’ve heard the stone rolling away.
We’ve peered inside.
We’ve been amazed—and alarmed.
Empty tombs startle us.

And yet, O God, we seek life amid death. Hope amid despair.

Roll away this old world’s stones of injustice.
Empty out from us death and decay.
Breathe into us graced amazement.

We are dust, O God, and to dust we shall return.
And on this day?
Because of your love in Christ, dust sings breath-taking alleluias.
We sing alleluia.

Because of your love in Christ, rocks roll away.
Tombs empty out. Hearts fill up.

We give you thanks, O God, for your death-denying, life-birthing, justice-making gifts of Easter love.

Alleluia! 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.