Zipper us

The zipper:
Such a simple tool,
Yet, if it becomes inoperable
A garment cannot be worn,
A suitcase fails and its contents strewn everywhere,
Tent flaps cannot close and make it possible for creatures to enter.
Quite simply,
What was once useful
Becomes useless.

You, are the Zipper Slider
Connecting us,
Binding us,
Interlocking us
For a greater purpose, for a common goal.
Alone, we cannot function;
When you bring us together,
We are strong.

You, the Zipper Slider -
In bread and wine
In water and word
Bring us together,
one holy fabric.

[Other "z" words - there aren't many! Zap us! Zoom...?!]

Yeast in us

Making bread
on Good Friday,
adding yeast
to all the ingredients.

Small flakes about to work
Large miracles.


He spoke, "It is finished,"
and it was over.
Maybe the women cry
as they prepare the evening meal
and the men, feeling lost,
take up fishing again.
All wonder what just
happened.

The dough is kneaded again and again
making pockets to give space
for the yeast that
makes the dough rise and
Slowly, with time,
The dough does
Rise.


 

They will make their way
to the tomb
in three days
but, in the meantime,
the yeast is doing its work.

Jesus,

Be the yeast in us

pushing and stretching

in the pockets of our being,

Making your way into

Each cell.

Rise up in us every day and

Make us your bread for this hungry world.

(Yeast has a powerful ability to change things!)

X, Christ for us

Maundy Thursday, Good Friday

What words have I to say
When on this evening we remember
How you served us -
     washing our feet,
How you fed us,
     giving us bread and wine that meant something more?
And the only job you gave us was
To love. Love one another.

What words have I to say
When on this afternoon we remember
How you, the Christ
(with an "x" - a cross - even for your name),
Serve and feed us still on that wood.
And, what of your command to love?

My God, what have we done?

Today from the cross on which we put you
(hunger, war, hate, injustice, waste, greed)
I hear your cries directed at us,
"Why have you forsaken me?"

Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.

Walk with us

Walk with us...

when we aren't sure

of what we may face around the next corner

when we delight in simple things

 

through times of trouble

when life seems rough and rocky

during those times when it seems like it takes

every ounce of energy to make our way through the day

in our bright and hopeful moments

when we are afraid

when we are reflective

when we move into unfamiliar, unknown territory

as we cross troubled waters

in the moments in our lives when

feel overwhelmed

 

 

when the unexpected comes across our path

when we take time to wonder

at the beauty of your creation

when we do not feel sure-footed

when we do not know

which way to go:

You walk with us always!

Keep us mindful of your presence.

Vitalize us

"Good People,

most royal greening verdancy,

rooted in the sun,

you shine with radiant light." 
Hildegard of Bingen

__________________________________

You hung on that slab of dead wood,

But, it could not hold you:

Your life blood - was life giving

Animating that which was dead in us.

Veriditas!

Vitalize us -

Infuse your greening breath into our every cell,

Clearing away the dead wood,

Making room for life.

Veriditas!

"The Word is living, being, spirit, all verdant greening, all creativity. This Word manifests itself in every creature." Hildegard of Bingen

(Vitalize us!)

Untangle us

Untangle us
From the knots we feel
Within ourselves.

Untangle us
From the tightness in our guts
That make us tense up, immobilized.

Untangle us
From the ugly webs we weave
That serve as traps.

Untangle us
Loose us
Make us free!

Tango with us

 "Would you like to tango, darlin'?"
"I think I would be a little afraid."
"Of what?"
"Of making a mistake."
"No mistakes in the tango....If you make a mistake, get all tangled up, just tango on."


(If you cannot see the YouTube link to a scene from "Scent of a Woman," go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2zTd_YwTvo)

Tango!
You hold us close
Embracing us,
Showing us the moves
If we are willing to pay attention.

Tango!
If we do it right,
YOU will lead and we will follow.
But even if we misstep,
You are there,
Holding onto us,
Never letting us go.
And all the while,
Encouraging us to take that next step,
All mistakes forgiven.
Tango with us!

[Other prayers with the letter "t" - Transform us, teach us, tap-dance with us, tame us, tend us...]

Sing in us

I know the feeling
Of reaching deep in my gut
For air so I can sing a phrase
Without gasping for breath.

I know the feeling of
Standing beside those
With voices that differ from mine,
But in singing, they become united and whole.

I know the feeling
Of goosebumps
When a choir raises its one voice
To reach a perfect moment, a climax in some magnificent work.

Sing in us
And we will feel you in our breath,
In our unity with those who are different from us
In those perfect holy notes of life.



[There are plenty of "s" words to use for prayer: Save us, sculpt us, seek us, sensitize us, speak to us, sprout in us, shine in us, shimmer in us, sigh in us, stir us, surprise us, suture us, strengthen us, stretch us, summon us...and so many more!]

Radiate through us

After dinner the other day, we left the restaurant
     and stood talking on the sidewalk.
In an instant, a shower of light flew overhead,
A tail radiating from the source.
What joy rose within me to see this unexpected light!

Radiate through us
Like the light from a meteor flashing through the sky
So others may experience the joy
Of knowing you!

[Lots of wonderful "r" words. What would you use? Run with us, rejoice with us, renew us, re-create in us, restore us, remain with us, repair us, replenish us, revive us, rouse us...the list is endless!)

Quiet us

Busy lives
Busy thoughts
Busy dreams
No time for reflection
Consequently
We don't listen
Don't reflect
Don't think critically
And we collide with one another.
Instead of being with one another.

Quiet us
So that we can live simply.
Being in the moment. Sensing your presence.
Where our talking intersects
Instead of turning into shouting matches.
Where our doing is praying at the same time,
Moving through life
In the presence of the Divine.

Quiet us.


["Q" words are difficult to find - how about "quicken us" or "quarrel with us?" or "quake in us?"]

Patch us

Torn,
Ripped apart -
Some days are like that
(Not feeling quite whole),
Feeling a need to be mended.

Our own hands cannot do the mending
It takes you
To sew us back together:
The gift of your amazing grace
Is your patch for our tears.

Patch us:
And we're ready to face the world again
In one piece
While we wear the evidence
Of your grace on our sleeves.



[Lots of "P" words from which to choose. How about: paint in us, pardon us, pepper us, poke us, possess us, prepare us, prime us, purpose us...others?]

Orient us

Lost in some deep forest
Of our soul, our being
No focus, no sense of direction,
Getting off the path and
Somehow
Finding ourselves in the bramble,
Climbing over fallen branches
And catching ourselves on prickly briar bushes.
We are
So
Lost.

Orient us,
Give us some sense of direction
That leads us home
To you.



[Other "O" words for a prayer lap: Open us, own us, outfit us, orchestrate us - what do you use?]

Nest in us

Open our hearts.
Do a bit of spring cleaning
And sweep out the cobwebs,
Rid it of rotten wood,
Fix the cracks.

Make room in our hearts
To hold you,
Our hearts a nest
For you.


[Other words starting with "n" for prayer: Needle us, name us, nudge us, nurse us - others?]

Marinate us

You are like a marinade -
Making us better than what we are.

Tenderize our tough spots:
     Break down our defenses,
     Enable us to love even those with whom we disagree,
     Make us less judgmental of others.
Season us in ways
     That make it possible
     For others to get a taste
     Of you in us.
    
You change us for the better.
Marinate us!


[Other prayers starting with "M:" Mark us, mend us, mulch us, mobilize us...others?!]
     

Laugh with us

Laugh with us!

I remember my grandfather's laugh and how his eyes would twinkle,
    his belly would quake a little, and his cheekbones would get rosy
It was almost a giggle and even though he's gone
I can still hear him laugh.

He was a serious man at times, thinking deep thoughts about the injustices of the world
Or reflecting on scripture
Or caring for someone in need,
But, he never forgot to laugh.

It's his laugh that sticks with me.

Somehow, that's what I think heaven will be like -
The sound of laughter, like music, falling off our lips
Joyful to be with one another, a happy reunion,
"Why, look who's here!"

You only have to look at pictures of others laughing
To suddenly find yourself smiling a little, too!

Laugh with us
Help us not to take our lives, ourselves so seriously all the time.
Help us to remember the wonderful gift of life you have given us,
The way that it sparkles
And dances in our hearts
And in our eyes
In the deep, full wells of our very being.

Bubbling up
In laughter!

Laugh in us
   Laugh through us
       Laugh with us!

Knead Us

You are the Baker,
we are the dough.
Knead us.

In kneading us
You strengthen the fibers of our being,
Warm our hearts
With your loving hands,
Stretch us in new ways,
Bind our being in a way
That keeps us from falling apart.

And in the end,
Your kneading
Makes us rise!


[Other prayers starting with the letter "k" could be: Knit Us, Kindle in us, Keep us. Are there other suggestions?]