New Life has Begun
The dark soil felt cold and damp
The inky blackness frightening and as cold as steel
I felt myself being plunged underneath, sinking into the dirt,
Covering every inch of my body, suffocating me
Is this what dying feels like? Is this the end?
After awhile, it starts to feel like home, this darkness
And I wait
Restless, impatient
Am I alone or are there others feeling this pain?
A strange feeling flows through me, a shooting pain in my side
I break free from the shell that was once my comfort
Hope
green buds of life appear where I once saw nothingness
I feel the air hit my unfamiliar, infant limbs with forceful fury
As I inhale my first breath,
New life has begun.
God of all creation, today we feel the darkness of this moment. A suffocation of the hopes and dreams for our church. It makes me wonder how your Son’s disciples felt when he, too, had no more breath in his lungs, when darkness covered the earth. There must have been intense pain and mourning. Yet, they didn’t know that during those three days, you were working, you were making all things new. They just saw the shadows of night. Today as we sit feeling the pain that has been caused by our global church, let us remember that you are in the midst. We are waiting vigil for your church and longing for the Resurrection. The trauma that has been endured by our LGBTQ+ siblings cannot be erased and we are responsible. Yet grief and resilience live together. Your love through the suffering endures. Your Son’s Resurrection is a “story of love that survives.”
May our story also be a story of love that survives all things.
We are in the darkness now, but new life has begun.
A death and resurrection, in every single seed.
Will you now join me as we pray this prayer of confession together:
Merciful God,
We have not loved you with our whole heart.
We have failed to be an obedient church.
We have not done your will,
We have broken your law,
We have rebelled against your love,
We have not loved our neighbors,
and we have not heard the cry of the needy.
Forgive us, we pray.
Free us for joyful obedience,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Photo by Noah Buscher
