Lord, teach me to pray when I do not have words —
words to express the grief
the pain
the horror
the outrage
the confusion
the fear — rekindled yet again — this day
Lord, teach me how to live when Good Friday — Long Friday, Sorrowful Friday —
is not just a vividly-portrayed remembrance during this Holy Week,
but a reality that explodes across TV screens and in airports and train stations
Lord, teach me to trust when I cannot see
when Your call to Love feels riskier than ever
when the feet I wash might be those of one who would hurt me
and all those I call family
when it feels as if Resurrection is further away than three days
Perhaps, Holy One, my loudest prayer is this:
teach me to embody Your grace
to act against injustice
to cry salty tears of healing into old and newly-formed wounds
to be, and be seen, as a bearer of light that new life might arise, whatever the
consequences to me.
teach me to embrace a walk with You that cannot be lived quietly,
a life that lays hold of the prayer that You taught us so long ago, saying: “thy kingdom come,”
a life lived as one of your disciples.
This is my fervent prayer! Amen.
By Susan Faye Wonderland
Transitional Executive
Synod of the Trinity