Day 5 - March 10, 2014

The Name will not be tamed

Every bird in flight

every creature of sea

every hair of every head

is numbered and known.

In darkness and in light,

whether happy or sad,

asleep or awake

there is an Advocate

    who lingers,

    who does not forget,

    who notices every tear and

        cherishes all laughter.

Who is this Advocate,

this gracious Father,

this guardian Mother,

this Presence

    whose Way is peace

    whose Will is justice,

    whose Weal is shaped in mercy?

This One's Name

    cannot be contained,    

    cannot be captured,

    cannot be controlled.

The Name above every name

    will not be tamed,

    will always slip from grasping hands,

    will not be hoarded or

        harvested for a profit.

The Blessed One comes

    to those with empty hands;

    to those on bended knee;

    to those of generous heart

        and gentle tongue.

This is the Master who

    abolishes slavery;

the LORD who

    banishes privilege;

the Savior who    

    redeems without revenge.                                            Ken Sehested

Prayer

 Lord, we most humbly beseech thee to give us grace

not only to be hearers of the Word,

but also doers of the same;

not only to love

but also to live thy Gospel;

not only to profess,

but also to practice thy bless commandments

unto the honor of thy holy name.                                 Thomas Becon (1512-1567)

And for your reflection

How would you rewrite the above prayer so that a high school freshman would "get" it?