Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Prayer for today - April 3rd (a prayer of anxious waiting)


Servant King,
a few short hours ago you entered the city to triumphant shouts,
The crowds cheered and celebrated
the gathered people chanted "Hosanna in the highest"
Hosanna
Hosanna
Hosanna

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

But even as the echo of the hooves clattering on stone faded,
the chants and cheers turned to jeers.

Instead of taking the city you focused on the temple,
tables overturned,
coins thrown about,
merchants disrupted.

They screamed "How dare you?"
as your up ended their commerce
and questioned their values.

How dare you?
they shouted as you disrupted their comfort
and challenged their complacency.

They ran to the comfort of the authorities,
gnashing thier teeth and weeping crocodile tears
playing the victim while cherishing their shekels.

"How dare you?" screamed as you questioned the status quo

How dare you?
How dare you?
How dare you?

The Hosannas faded away in the realization
of what your Kingdom would be.

The Hosannas faded away as people
tried to protect the comfortable and familiar.

The Hosannas faded away as the path
turned from triumph to tragedy ...

Today O Holy One, we hear thier voices ...
we hear their bitterness and their fear
we feel their anger and resentment
we see the lengthening shadows
we know what lies ahead ...

Be with us in the gathering quiet
that looms before the storm ...

We know where this journey leads ...

We know the blood soaked hill lies ahead ...

We know the Hosannas have given way to Horrors ...

Be with us in the quiet,
hold us in the shadowy places that cause us fear,
love us even when we've turned away and fled.

Servant King ... in our hearts we want to cheer
Hosanna in the highest
but today our fear tells us to remain silent
and guard our words instead ...

In the quiet of the waiting, be with us,
forgive us, and love us in spite of ourselves ...

Hear our prayer O Blessed One
and be with us as we try to follow ...

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