Make me a refuge: a Sunday prayer.

Lord, even as you breathe, all of creation breathes in sync. As you stretch out your hand, creation reaches to meet you. May I live out my days in a perpetual posture of reaching out to meet you. 

Lord, even as you are a refuge for the seeking, make me a refuge for the seeking. Even as Christ is bread and wine to me, make my life bread and wine to those who hunger and thirst. 

Lord, as you are Creator, make me creative. Give me the courage and the grace to fashion beauty where there once was chaos and speak light where there once was dark. Create in me a heart that is eager to assume the role you have given me in the redemption story.

Lord, as you are faithful, make me faithful. May my life be inextricably tied to that which is merciful and just and good, as you are merciful and just and good. As you were born into obscurity and rejected notoriety, may I, too, live humbly and void of self-interest. Rather, may my words and actions reveal your greatness in me and in the world.

Lord, as you speak truth to the proud and the oppressive, may I have the Spirit-filled audacity to lay bare the systemic brokenness and sickness of the empire and stand with those who are marginalized by it. May I fling the doors wide open and go looking for those on the outskirts because there is a banquet to be had and all are welcome here.

Lord, as you took on human flesh and bent down low, risking certain discomfort and yet, dispassionate towards traditional ideas of success, may I always be willing to forsake upward mobility for the sake of agreeing with who you say that I already am in this moment. May I always be ready to serve gladly and give generously of the abundance that is mine in you. 

Lord, as you have taken on our burdens and continue to carry us, may I always be willing to lighten the load of the person in front of me. May I be ready and willing to wash the feet of the traveler, to mourn with those who mourn, and to believe for and celebrate the coming of the harvest. Bring to life in me a spirit that is willing to persevere.

Lord, even as your love sees all of it, may I be unafraid of seeing and being seen. Strengthen me, even as the weight of the world often leaves my heart feeling weary and ill-equipped. As you refuse to turn away, may I also refuse to turn a blind eye to the suffering and the afflicted, but instead, to use the esteem that you have given me to esteem others as being of even greater importance than me. May my heart be constantly attuned to the leading of your Spirit. 

May it be where my feet are as it is in heaven. 

Amen.