Saturday, February 17, 2007
Dust and Ashes
Sometimes like ashes, Lord, as I come here to pray
like the charred remains of all my good intentions,
the words I want to say dry up, blow away,
I am left here, speechless, my heart a bare indention,
an empty thumbprint.
Kyrie eleison.
Dust and ashes - from dust we are made,
And it is your breath that gives that dust a soul,
A reason to reach out and touch before we fade
back into that dust, a purpose and a goal
so often unfulfilled.
Kyrie eleison.
Today I know the taste of dust, of what my flesh will be,
Hear my stumbling voice that cries out, wordless, lost,
Today I taste the ashes of my remorse, and see
How empty the cup, how painful is life's cost,
Spent in self-deception.
Kyrie eleison
Today, in the sackcloth and ashes of a pierced heart,
I kneel down before you, all wordless dust, and broken soul,
Forgive my self-deceptions and sin that keep us apart,
Forgive my dry and dusty self that longs to be whole
In the palm of your hand.
Kyrie eleison
Susan E. Stone, 2007
like the charred remains of all my good intentions,
the words I want to say dry up, blow away,
I am left here, speechless, my heart a bare indention,
an empty thumbprint.
Kyrie eleison.
Dust and ashes - from dust we are made,
And it is your breath that gives that dust a soul,
A reason to reach out and touch before we fade
back into that dust, a purpose and a goal
so often unfulfilled.
Kyrie eleison.
Today I know the taste of dust, of what my flesh will be,
Hear my stumbling voice that cries out, wordless, lost,
Today I taste the ashes of my remorse, and see
How empty the cup, how painful is life's cost,
Spent in self-deception.
Kyrie eleison
Today, in the sackcloth and ashes of a pierced heart,
I kneel down before you, all wordless dust, and broken soul,
Forgive my self-deceptions and sin that keep us apart,
Forgive my dry and dusty self that longs to be whole
In the palm of your hand.
Kyrie eleison
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Penitence, Prayer for Mercy
Friday, February 16, 2007
At Passover Time
Friday morning in spring, full moon time,
Was the weather mild or cool that day
While the judge sat there, contemplating a crime
As the crowd swelled the city, making their way
At Passover time?
Did the whisper pass from ear to ear
That morning about the trial,
While those in the know crowded in to hear
What others said with a certain bile
At Passover time?
How big was the crowd in the courtyard that day?
An unexpected spectacle to prove their worth
As Abraham's sons, their cries for death part of the way
To give a new covenant a birth
At Passover time.
How frail you must have seemed when he presented you
Bloody and beaten, crowned with thorn
to the angry crowd with their cries and their hue,
Looking not like a king, but a person to mourn
At Passover time.
As the sentence was passed and the verdict he gave,
They led you away to die by cross and by nail
A new passage of blood on life's lintel to save
By your sacrifice there as the women did wail
At Passover time.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Was the weather mild or cool that day
While the judge sat there, contemplating a crime
As the crowd swelled the city, making their way
At Passover time?
Did the whisper pass from ear to ear
That morning about the trial,
While those in the know crowded in to hear
What others said with a certain bile
At Passover time?
How big was the crowd in the courtyard that day?
An unexpected spectacle to prove their worth
As Abraham's sons, their cries for death part of the way
To give a new covenant a birth
At Passover time.
How frail you must have seemed when he presented you
Bloody and beaten, crowned with thorn
to the angry crowd with their cries and their hue,
Looking not like a king, but a person to mourn
At Passover time.
As the sentence was passed and the verdict he gave,
They led you away to die by cross and by nail
A new passage of blood on life's lintel to save
By your sacrifice there as the women did wail
At Passover time.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Friday Meditations, Passion of Christ
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Love Song (Meditation on Hosea 2: 16-17)
So I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart....and she will respond there as in the days of her youth. - Hosea 2:16,17
O Lord, again and again I hear you calling,
Serenading us in the night,
A lover who never gives up his playing,
Calling us until morning light.
It doesn't matter that we are enamoured
of things that turn our heads away,
How vain we flutter, chasing others,
You wait there patiently til light of day.
How easy we are to be distracted
by things that flash in candlelight,
Toys and glitter, that shine and dazzle,
Tinsel promises in the night.
We do not deserve a love like yours
That stands so true while we chase on
Who picks us up when tinsel breaks
And other loves have left and gone.
When lost in the desert of our dreams,
O let us here your love's sweet song,
And surrounded by our shattered dreams,
Help us know where we went wrong.
O allure us, we who need your love,
Until we rest our hearts with you,
Beloved Lord, open our hearts,
Let us hear your song anew.
You are the source of light and love,
My cold life shatters when we're apart.
Hold me forever in your arms,
All my joy springs from your heart.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
O Lord, again and again I hear you calling,
Serenading us in the night,
A lover who never gives up his playing,
Calling us until morning light.
It doesn't matter that we are enamoured
of things that turn our heads away,
How vain we flutter, chasing others,
You wait there patiently til light of day.
How easy we are to be distracted
by things that flash in candlelight,
Toys and glitter, that shine and dazzle,
Tinsel promises in the night.
We do not deserve a love like yours
That stands so true while we chase on
Who picks us up when tinsel breaks
And other loves have left and gone.
When lost in the desert of our dreams,
O let us here your love's sweet song,
And surrounded by our shattered dreams,
Help us know where we went wrong.
O allure us, we who need your love,
Until we rest our hearts with you,
Beloved Lord, open our hearts,
Let us hear your song anew.
You are the source of light and love,
My cold life shatters when we're apart.
Hold me forever in your arms,
All my joy springs from your heart.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Jesus' Love, Loving God, scripture
Monday, February 12, 2007
Watching That Short Walk
Each step that day, as the crowd pressed in,
How hard it was for You, burdened with a dark world's sin,
that last, painful walk through Jerusalem's dust,
beneath a burden incredibly hard to bear, but bear it You must -
step by aching step, one foot following another
a countdown You were born for, while others thought to smother
Your light, Heaven's light, beneath a rebel's death
Each step that day a struggle of muscle and breath
each step one less to the time when you would walk no more
before tasting the depths of darkness that would open hope's door.
Watching you in mind's eye, O my Jesus, what you did so long ago,
the reality of that moment doubted by so many who think they know,
in my heart, seeing your blood streaked face marred beneath your thorny crown,
Your mother's tears, the bored soldiers, the impatient centurion's frown,
I contemplate your words, "Come to me, you who are heavy burdened," and know
that as I watch you walk that short but hard march, each shove and blow
from the place of condemnation to the place of execution,
That your death was a gift, the choice was God's solution.
O my Jesus, may I, in my remembering that day, that gift,
learn to follow in your footsteps in gratitude, and let you heal sin's rift,
walking beside you on the road from death to life beneath the cross you give me;
teach me to bear its burden well, as a treasure, graciously
with as much love and willingness as my wavering heart can muster,
And forgive me this day, if I forget and stand and whine and bluster
Because I love you for the loving walk you took -
Bring it to my mind daily - help me stand and look!
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
How hard it was for You, burdened with a dark world's sin,
that last, painful walk through Jerusalem's dust,
beneath a burden incredibly hard to bear, but bear it You must -
step by aching step, one foot following another
a countdown You were born for, while others thought to smother
Your light, Heaven's light, beneath a rebel's death
Each step that day a struggle of muscle and breath
each step one less to the time when you would walk no more
before tasting the depths of darkness that would open hope's door.
Watching you in mind's eye, O my Jesus, what you did so long ago,
the reality of that moment doubted by so many who think they know,
in my heart, seeing your blood streaked face marred beneath your thorny crown,
Your mother's tears, the bored soldiers, the impatient centurion's frown,
I contemplate your words, "Come to me, you who are heavy burdened," and know
that as I watch you walk that short but hard march, each shove and blow
from the place of condemnation to the place of execution,
That your death was a gift, the choice was God's solution.
O my Jesus, may I, in my remembering that day, that gift,
learn to follow in your footsteps in gratitude, and let you heal sin's rift,
walking beside you on the road from death to life beneath the cross you give me;
teach me to bear its burden well, as a treasure, graciously
with as much love and willingness as my wavering heart can muster,
And forgive me this day, if I forget and stand and whine and bluster
Because I love you for the loving walk you took -
Bring it to my mind daily - help me stand and look!
Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Jesus' Love, Passion of Christ
Sunday, February 11, 2007
In Hac Fide, In Hac Spe, In Hac Caritáte
In hac fide, in hac spe, in hac caritáte:
In this faith, a faith whose seeds you planted in my heart, O loving Lord,
let me take my stand forever,
let it shape my life, day by day, in darkness or light,
until at last I stand where that faith is sight,
stripped of all my night.
In this hope, a hope you breathe into hot fire by the touch of your Spirit, O Lord,
let me take my comfort forever,
let it breathe your peace into my steps, day by day, in darkness or light,
until at last I stand, where my hope is proved real,
pure joy in your sight.
In this love, a love you offered by your death, hard and hot, O Lord of my life,
let me take my shelter forever,
let me, so well loved, share that love, day by day, in darkness or light
Until at last I stand, where my love is fulfilled,
dressed in your wedding robe of sparkling white.
In hac fide, in hac spe, in hac caritáte, vívere et mori státuo! Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
In this faith, a faith whose seeds you planted in my heart, O loving Lord,
let me take my stand forever,
let it shape my life, day by day, in darkness or light,
until at last I stand where that faith is sight,
stripped of all my night.
In this hope, a hope you breathe into hot fire by the touch of your Spirit, O Lord,
let me take my comfort forever,
let it breathe your peace into my steps, day by day, in darkness or light,
until at last I stand, where my hope is proved real,
pure joy in your sight.
In this love, a love you offered by your death, hard and hot, O Lord of my life,
let me take my shelter forever,
let me, so well loved, share that love, day by day, in darkness or light
Until at last I stand, where my love is fulfilled,
dressed in your wedding robe of sparkling white.
In hac fide, in hac spe, in hac caritáte, vívere et mori státuo! Amen.
Susan E. Stone, 2007
Labels: Hope, Loving God, Praise and Thanksgiving
