What the silence says

Dearly Beloved,

Grace and Peace to you.
         
         
When the towers of what you know collapse,
          what do you know?
Beside the great abyss that has swallowed
          what you cherished,
          where do you stand?
Before the darkness of war
          closed the eyes of your heart,
what did you see?
What does the vast, swirling silence say?

That those who cause pain and those who receive it
          fall into the same grave.
That lost in the wreckage every time is
          the only God worth having.
That we have seen days dark enough
          for resurrection.
That wisdom is born of vulnerability.
That evil is not a monstrous power
          but a sinuous thread,
the will to disregard
          in service of our fear.
That there is in all of us a great hole,
          under a pall of smoke and sorrow,
in which we meet each other
          and know each other deeply.
That not victory, but tenderness
          will save the world.
That before the dust falls upon us,
          we who ourselves are dust will have chosen
to be people of might or people of grace,
          one or the other;
and that it is in choosing that we are human,
          and in choosing well that we are blessed.
That we are not worthy of our self-confidence
          and yet God, still weeping,
resolutely trusts us
          with her most fragile hopes.
That our flesh is sackcloth.
That we who are covered with the ash
          of our failure, our fear of ourselves,
          are yet beautiful,
that we who are certainly lost
          can point the way.





         
         
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve

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Copyright © Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net