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A poem for Easter Sunday
Up from the ash, where once fire raged leaving scorched black earth, rise magenta-topped stems, lithe and delicate, bowing in the wind then standing tall again, laughing in the face of death. Fireweed saviour, you pave the way, flourishing on disturbed earth, bringing life again where once death reigned. A miracle of grace riding on silky-haired seeds carried by the wind to landscapes in need of salvation. Easter Jesus, you germinate seeds of new life in the burned and baren places in our world, and in the brokenness of our lives, growing beauty, hope, and love on delicate stems rising up from the ash. Wendy Janzen, 2019
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A prayer for Good Friday
Life-Giver of all that is and ever has been, who meets us in our grief: We arrive here at the end of the week, weary, and with fires and holy places on our minds and hearts: the Notre Dame Cathedral, Black churches in Louisiana, Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, and forest cathedrals. So much destruction, despair, loss, death, and ashes. On this Good Friday we reflect on death and despair, grief and loss, sorrow laid bare like a landscape scorched of its trees or a community of its spiritual centre. We feel the emptiness in our bones, our hearts reach across time and space to those most closely touched by the flames. Spirit of Life, we know that you grieve too. Hear our cries, as we cry for the brokenness in our world and our own ability to inflict wounds on others and on the earth. May our Wounded Healer offer comfort and company as we wait in stillness and silence for hope to be born again from the ashes. Amen. Wendy Janzen, 2019 April 15 - Lent 6 (Palm Sunday)
Source of all being, Eternal Word, Holy Spirit - Today we enter into a week called holy; drawing nearer to the events that shook up history and invite us into faith. It is a day of rejoicing and singing your praises. We wave our pine boughs, our hemlock branches, our cedars, and lay them down before you. eagerly wanting to demonstrate our devotion. We confess that we are so easily caught up in excitement and expectation that we forget to look more deeply at what is really going on around us. Your presence and your work among us is not shallow or simple. Have mercy on us, O God, when we don’t understand. Faith is messy stuff. Help us to lay down our misguided expectations of you, of others, of ourselves. We pray with confidence of your love and compassion for us and for the entire universe, Open our hearts wide enough to hold the beauty and praise along with the pain and darkness of life, and death, and new life. Amen. - Wendy Janzen, 2019 Prayer for the 5th Sunday of Lent
I had a little fun with alliteration on this one... O One who welcomes wonder and wipes away tears: As we continue to wander through the weeks of Lent, O God, we pray that your tender mercy would restore our weary hearts. You know our sorrows, our fears, and our worries. Restore us, God, and turn our weeping into joy. We want to witness your works: You create new ways in the wilderness, and waterways in the desert. May we, like the wild animals, honour and worship you. Anoint us wild ones with your extravagant love, so that the fragrance of your presence may waft through the air in our wake, wherever we go. Amen. - Wendy Janzen 2019 April is national poetry month. I have to say that the emergency of spring does inspire me to write poetry. Here are a few haiku's I've written for spring.
O glorious spring! Bulbs break through warming earth and welcome the light. The Divine Presence comes like gentle spring showers that water the earth. Small beauty, springtime: sun, birdsong, feathery moss. Senses awaken. Listen to winter giving over to springtime bringing forth new life. Snowdrops, pushing up through brown grass in early spring announcing rebirth. Wendy Janzen |
AuthorReflections, poetry, prayers, and resources written by Wendy Janzen and occasional guests. Archives
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