Your glory, O God, stands triumphant
in high places and low,
in mountains and valleys,
across rivers and oceans that once bled.
How the mighty have fallen from their thrones!
How the satisfied have been reduced to hunger!
How the fortresses have crumbled to pieces
before the powerful wind of your whisper!
Your voice, O God, has heaped hot coals
upon the evil and the selfish,
the wealthy and the deceptive,
in marbled halls and war rooms.
How the loud have fallen from their platforms!
How the liars have swallowed their own tongues!
How the self-righteous have lost their audience
before the steadiness of your righteous love!
Your grace, O God, has tasted like dry dust
in the mouths of the proud,
and to the self-appointed
it has tasted like bitter herbs.
How the self-styled saviors have fallen out of esteem!
How the scholars have found their wisdom outdated!
How the spiritual have tripped upon their foolish paths
because your presence is more beautiful than status!
They shall not get up,
and by your will O God,
we will never again enable it —
neither by our awe of reputation
nor our jealousy of accomplishment,
neither by the haste of our fear
nor the stubbornness of our ego.
Hear our cries for life-giving mercy
and our thanks for daily bread —
our only portion and hope.
Amen.
The Rev. Rachel G. Hackenberg‘s book with co-author Martha Spong, Denial Is My Spiritual Practice (and Other Failures of Faith), searches for faith through life’s trials. Rachel has also written Writing to God, a popular Lenten devotional, and other books.
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