Father God Lord Jesus Holy Spirit We present ourselves before You again this Sunday. Not many of us are powerful or Of noble birth or wise in the world’s ways. We are those whom You have chosen To shame the cultural elites. Not that we don’t struggle with pride— A sense of superiority underlaid With a lingering feeling of inferiority. Inside our own heads, many of us Are, as they say, “hot messes.” But we are your weak, conflicted children. We know our neglect of love And our struggles with forgiveness. And, having agreed with You That we’ve followed Satan’s lies, You have revealed the cross Where You, Yourself, ransomed us. In the bleak midwinter of pride and shame, We would have despaired unless we had Believed we would see your goodness Realized among us. We plead your blood again Shed for us, on our behalf. We turn away from our own efforts And trust your mercy. We will never give up thanking You. You always deserve more gratitude. And the best is yet to be, when We will live imbued and surrounded by The good, the true, and the beautiful. Amen.
Suit photo by Dane Deaner on Unsplash
Blurred photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash
Cross photo by Vaishakh pillai on Unsplash
Distress photo by Road Trip with Raj on Unsplash
Jesus photo by Wonderlane on Unsplash
Mountain photo by Simon Berger on Unsplash
In the Bleak Midwinter of Pride and Shame, We Would have Despaired Unless We had Believed