A prayer/poem in some ways following on from the other pieces this week and a couple of personal experiences and partly prompted by today's hard hitting reading from the Matthew 18: 15-20 in today's Lectionary.
Incarnate Immanuel,
God come near,
Make yourself known
In these unsocially distanced days,
Across the ether,
Through the masks,
In the unfamiliar offerings,
In familiar places.
You who risked all for others,
Forgive us where we risk others
For very little.
You who turned the word love
Into nail pierced flesh,
Forgive us where we turn it back
Into mere words.
You who emptied yourself
Into our frail clay,
Forgive us our lack of forgiveness
For the frailties and failures
Of others
And ourselves;
Flagellating offenders
With our tongues
Pointing them out
“Ecce homo,"
Or too often
“Ecce mulier"
The source of our sorrow
And scapegoat for our sins.
But you were done with that
Millennia ago.
We just find it hard
To give up the habit.
So where two or three
Gather in your name
Physically or virtually
May we know that
You are with us
And do everything
Not just in your name
But in your Spirit
As your incarnate body.
Amen
Selah
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