Kyrie Whispers

There is no absence of sorrow and grief these days.
And so, last night,
I walked out onto the darkness
With nothing but Kyrie Eleison on my lips.

Kyrie for this neighbor I do not know:
Whose sorrows may have been as deep as mine at one time,
Who feels that prayers are not enough,
And a Kyrie for my own despair,
Kyrie eleison
Christe eleison

Kyrie for friends:
Struggling with parents with Alzheimers,
Longing for a son who is moving to another continent,
Grieving the loss of a spouse,
Saddened by a hostile congregation,
Kyrie eleison
Christe eleison

Kyrie for my country:
Boston victims, the witnesses, the first responders,
Mourners of Sandy Hook victims who still grieve,
Those who perpetuate fear and anger
Those whose hate speech incites such violence
Those who believe that guns will keep them safe,
Peacemakers who struggle against the tide,
Kyrie eleison
Christe eleison

Kyrie for our whole world
Innocents who are killed by our drone attacks,
People dying from hunger,
The one feeling so desolate right now, holding a gun to his head
And for the one who will find his body,
Bullies, warring nations, fanatics,
A planet - our planet - dying by our own greed and consumption,
For enemies and friends - all the same,
Kyrie again and again

Kyrie eleison
Christe eleison
Kyrie eleison

I whisper, these words on my lips
With every step I take
Longing for you to make us whole again,
Aching for you to take away our darkness
Bringing light.

A Kyrie for us all

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.

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?]

Jumpstart Us

Sometimes we need that little jolt,
A jumpstart to get us on our way
When we are complacent
Or distracted
Or weary
Or just plain lazy.

Whatever the reason,
Our batteries seem dead
As we try to turn the ignition,
And only hear that pathetic grinding
Inside ourselves as we try to
Turn over our engines.

But, we count on you
To jumpstart us
When the spark we once had
Is somehow missing in action,
Because, ultimately
You are our spark!

It is you
In the bread and wine
Or in the remembrance of our baptism
Or in the sharing of the Word -
Those are the jumper cables
That get us going once again.

Imagine in Us

Imagine in us!
Imagine in us new ways of seeing
    doing
        being -
Bringing hope
     joy
         peace
             to the world -
Dreaming dreams
    living dreams
         sharing dreams.
Point us in the direction of
     doing work that matters
        making play matter
           making relationships matter.
Help us to imagine ways to make the impossible possible.

For nothing is impossible with God!

Imagine in us!

[Check out the website for Paul Foreman's mind maps at www.mindmapinspiration.com. Wonderful stuff! Okay - so other prayers  for the letter "I" include: inspire us (too obvious!), inform us, instruct us, involve us...do you have other ones?]

Heal Us

Illustration by Daniel Erlander

When I thought of the word, "healing," I thought of one of my favorite Medical Mission Sisters songs, "Come Down, Lord" (words by Miriam Therese Winter):

Come down, Lord, my son is ill
Wracked with fever the live longday.
He is life to me. If you will
Drive death away, drive death away.

Lord, do not come to my house I'm unworthy.
Speak and the promise is sealed
For when your word, O God, is spoken
He shall be healed, he shall be healed.

Come down, Lord, my soul is ill
Wracked with anquish the livelong day.
All my sorrowing will be still
If you but say, if you but say.

Lord, do not come to my house, I'm unworthy.
Speak and the promise is sealed.
For when your word, O God, is spoken
I shall be healed, I shall be healed.

Come down, Lord, the world is ill
Wracked with bloodshed the livelong day.
We must struggle for peace until
You show the way, you show the way.

Lord, do not come to our house, we're unworthy.
Speak and the promise is sealed.
For when your word of love is spoken
We shall be healed, we shall be healed.

Heal us.
We hunger for your healing touch for our sick world.

When we are mentally, physically or spiritually ill,
      Heal us;
When we latch on to fear and hold it like a shield,
      Heal us;
When we use language that separates ourselves from others,
      Heal us;
When we embrace a culture of death rather than one that embraces life,
      Heal us;
When we start believing that we are good and our enemies are bad,
      Heal us;
When we do things that harm the earth,
     Heal us;
When we put our self-interest before the needs of others,
     Heal us.
         
Give healing to your world.
Speak your word of love:
Heal us and make us whole.
   

Gather Us

At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, ‘Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.’ He said to them, ‘Go and tell that fox for me,^* “Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed away from Jerusalem.” Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! (Luke 13:31-34)


The fox is out there.
Waiting.
Lurking.
Ready to pounce at any unsuspecting moment.

Desire for power and wealth
Consumerism
Self-sufficiency
Idolatry
Isolationism
This is our fox.

What we don't know
Will hurt us.

The mother hen knows the danger
And bids us come under her wings
Where it is warm and safe
Close to her heart.

Would we rather be scattered than gathered
If we knew that the foxes in our lives
Are not good for us?
(But, we do know.)

Gather us in
All of us, under your wing
Where we can know your protection
And know one another.

Freeing Us

Freeing us

Arms outstretched and releasing,
being vulnerable,
facing life with gusto
(without fear),
knowing we are loved
even when we fail.

Life is ahead of us
in more ways than one:
We open up our arms
to let go, to be free
so that we can embrace
that which is
life-giving.

You!
You make it possible:
Your own arms outstretched,
letting go of life
to gain life
for
us.

There you are
on a cross.
Freeing us.