August 18, 2021
I’ve Been Thinking About Ground of Late: A Prayer
O Lord, I’ve been thinking about ground of late,
that stuff beneath our feet;
thinking about
L. A. hillside homes,
ground eroding,
ground giving way,
homes sliding down;
thinking about
my parent’s Florida condo,
built on sand,
always the worry of
slowly sinking;
and that got me
thinking about
old movies,
quicksand scenes,
slowly sucking someone
under;
thinking about ground
because
thinking about
our lives,
our culture,
our nation;
thinking about
how some days
it feels like
the ground beneath our feet
is about to
give way,
our lives, our culture, our nation, like
L. A. hillside homes about to give way,
lies eroding,
anger eroding,
violence eroding
what once grounded on;
how some days
it feels like
we’ve built on sand,
what once
seemingly so strong
slowly sinking,
about to collapse;
how some days
it feels like
we’re being
sucked in,
sucked down,
sucked under;
selves
sucked into
themselves
until
no trace left of
a self worth having;
politics
sucking politicians down
to new lows;
politicians
suckering
people
to new lows
(I know I should have a better attitude, Lord,
but as far as I'm concerned, politics today
really sucks)
all of it
sucking us under,
a nation gasping,
fear
sucking
hope
out of us.
O Lord, it's no mystery as to why the mess we’re in:
no solid ground,
the ground we once built
our lives and culture and nation on
ridiculed,
repudiated,
rejected;
tradition mocked,
virtues laughed at,
religion made fun of;
no solid ground,
fad now the fashion;
you Lord, out of fashion;
tradition out of fashion;
truth, kindness, humility (and about
20 other virtues I can think of),
out of fashion;
and so,
L. A. hillside homes,
Florida condos,
quicksand scenes.
O Lord, the real mystery is: What’s happened to us?
We know better;
we've been taught better;
we used to believe better.
Have we become so
twisted with anger,
twisted with resentment,
twisted with fear, that we
allow politicians,
allow violence,
allow prejudice
to twist us?
Have we become so
tired of it all
that we have
given in
given out,
given up?
Have we become so
timid
that we no longer
reject what is false,
resist what is wrong,
repel what is repugnant
(like cruelty and other things many seem to enjoy today)?
Grace us with
the strength
not to be twisted by others
but transformed by you;
the faith
not to give in or out or up
but be resolute in hope;
the courage
to hold fast
to what is true and right and good.
To stand on
the solid ground
that is Christ.
And we pray, O Lord, for those for whom
illness or disease,
suffering or hurting,
grief and sadness,
financial struggles,
depression and despair,
are causing
their lives, their faith, their hope to give way.
Heal, comfort, support, lift them, and put them
on the solid ground of your love.
And help us to be there for them
something of solid ground ourselves.
O Lord, in lives, a culture, a nation in which
nothing much
seems solid
anymore,
let us
be solid,
solid in our
belief in you, love for you, trust of you,
the rock
who is our
sure hope and
salvation.
Amen.