sunlight

Sunlight After Long Rain

For Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Truth-Teller and Bringer of Light

Spirit of Life, Source of all Love:

In this place the sun has come out
after months of rain
and the trees are showing off their finest jewels:
droplets sparkling in rainbow colors.

Steam rises from the ground
and from the trunks of the giant cedars
and the forest looks like Life begun anew
Creation just set in motion.

There is nothing in this world
like the feeling of sunlight on our faces
just when we thought it would never come
and darkness and gloom
would prevail forever.

Yet the sunlight does always return.

There are parts of our lives
in which we have little power
and this is good
for it keeps us humble.
We cannot make the sun come and go
on our preferred schedule.

But there are other parts
where we do have power
and if we want the sun to come out
we have to work for it.

Help us know the difference
and do the work.

Help us shine the bright light of truth
through the obscuring clouds of lies
so we can bask in its warmth.

Help us set Creation in motion anew.

Blessed be. Amen.

Such Beauty and Such Peace

Spirit of Life, Source of all love,
you who body forth as our starry universe
and this shimmering, blue-green planet:

It is late spring and the delicious heat
begins to steal in—
each day is warmer than the last
and the sunlight is a balm
to our rain-soaked hearts.

The air is redolent of the scents of
pine and oak and incense cedar
and we cannot breathe deeply enough
to capture the exquisite fragrance.

There will come a time when all we want
is to get into the shade
or the cool clear water of the river
to escape the burning sun,
but for now let us watch
the tall stems of grass
swaying gently in the breeze
and the daisies and the scarlet flax
dipping their lovely heads,
and pray fiercely for the day—
and commit ourselves to bringing it—
when all beings get to enjoy
such beauty and such peace.

Blessed be.

Passover Prayer

Spirit of Life,
Source and Sustainer of all:

It is hard to tell that spring has arrived.
White ice floats on the dark lake
and swans graze by the shore.

But then sunlight streams down
in sudden shafts through clouds,
lighting up circles of restless water
in brilliant blue.

May we be stopped in our tracks by this beauty.

May it open our hearts so that
we hear the cries
of all those who are suffering
and can’t help but respond–
even when it is hard–
even when we feel we are not up to the task.

May we keep one another company
in the work of liberation, saying
“Go, now. I will be with you.”

May we remember always
that here, together,
we are standing on holy ground.

Blessed be.