Between the Ashes – A Lenten Prayer
David Long-Higgins
(Heartland Conference Minister, United Church of Christ)
Reveal, O Holy One,
Between ashes to ashes
And dust to dust
A love that lives
In and through
Beginnings and endings
In perpetual rising
To life and love
And falling into mysteries
Of the eternal unseen
Embrace of You.
~
Yes, form me in Your Lent
Inviting attentions
Often overlooked
In other daily rhythms
Too busy or afraid
To notice or trust
This larger Life
In which You hold
Everyone and everything.
~
Let Your grand motion,
Unseen for largeness,
Like one who stands
On spinning planet
In cosmos too large
To comprehend,
Save for the delight
Of sunrise or sunset,
Grant an awakening
Awe at the mystery
Of being alive.
~
In stillness, You come
In constant invitation
Remaking the world
Even as it resists
This in-breaking of you
In the space of “to”
Within and beyond
Ashes “to” ashes.
And dust “to” dust.
~
Awaken me, O Love,
To this and more
Than I can imagine
That something of Christ
May rise in this little life
You have created of me
For this season of cosmic
Unfolding of justice, mercy
And unending grace.
~
And let it be
More than enough
For the in-between
Of Your Holy now.
Lenten Calendar Suggestion
Give away clothes or things you no longer need.