Your world is in pieces, O God.
Our world comes apart at the seams;
once united by the Tower,
once by the Flood (although
let’s not go there),
now scattered like hayseed,
planting flags, some upon rich soil,
some among brambles,
none believes it is by sheer luck
that some survive.
How will we pray for peace
from a place of pride?
How will we pray for peace
from a place of oppression?
How will we pray for peace
from a world in pieces?
Thy will be done: Creator,
though the tectons shift and we fracture,
let peace take root like the thistle
between the cracks in the sidewalk flags,
tenacious, impossible, lean, and fierce;
its bruised stalk you will not break,
nor extinguish the smoldering wick
of our sputtering prayers for peace,
candles flickering in a hurricane.
Join the Episcopal Church and other faith leaders in a vigil for peace in the Ukraine at noon today (Wednesday, February 23rd).
Rosalind C Hughes is Rector of the Church of the Epiphany, Euclid, Ohio, and author of A Family Like Mine: Biblical Stories of Love, Loss, and Longing; and Whom Shall I Fear? Urgent Questions for Christians in an Age of Violence. Find more at at over the water (rosalindchughes.com).