Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Hello, I’m Moderator Mardi Tindal here in the Garden of Gethsemane, at the start of
my own journey in Lent. It’s impossible for me here not to imagine Jesus’ last night
in the garden with his friends who found it too hard to stay awake. Jesus asked them,
“Could you not remain awake for me even for one hour?”
And here in Israel and Palestine, I’m with people who are wondering if we will remain
awake to the pain and the struggles of this region and indeed of all God’s world these
days. Poetic words from the Terma Collective help
me resolve to keep my eyes open and journey. I’d like to share them with you:
May our eyes remain open even in the face of tragedy.
May we not become disheartened. May we find in the dissolution
of our apathy and denial, the cup of the broken heart.
May we discover the gift of the fire burning in the inner chamber of our being—
burning great and bright enough to transform any poison.
May we offer the power of our sorrow to the service
of something greater than ourselves. May our guilt not rise up to form
yet another defensive wall. May the suffering purify and not paralyze
us. May we endure; may sorrow bond us and not
separate us. May we realize the greatness of our sorrow
and not run from its touch or its flame. May clarity be our ally and wisdom our support.
May our wrath be cleansing, cutting through the confusion of denial and greed.
May we not be afraid to see or speak our truth. May the bleakness of the wasteland be dispelled.
May the soul's journey be revealed and the true hunger fed.
May we be forgiven for what we have forgotten and blessed with the remembrance
of who we really are. May we remember, during this season of Lent,
who we really are. May we be blessed as friends of Jesus, and may our eyes remain open.
And if you would like to join with other United Church people who are praying with eyes open
with regular devotional practices during Lent, I invite you to use this year’s resource,
Rising with the Morning Star, and you’re welcome to join our online community conversation
as well as we explore together God’s healing for soul, community, and creation.