Prayer in response to Psalm 1

Psalm 1:

Blessed is the man

who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked

or stand in the way of sinners

or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water

which yields fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.

Not so the wicked!

They are like chaff

that the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement

not sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

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Excuse us if we seem unmoved, today, by your word

But we’ve been taught to be

both/and people

and never either/or.

We can’t help but find ourselves

Wary of duality

Skeptical of polarities

Suspicious of dichotomies

Because our world rebuts such simplicity

We’ve seen the power “the right” use against “the wrong”

We’ve discovered lifelong friends among mortal enemies

We’ve explored the tumultuous landscape of our own hearts.

So we resign ourselves to ambiguity,

We feel at home with relativity,

we guard ourselves against extremity.

We choose to be somewhere in between;

a people constrained to shades of gray.

Until you,

who have suffered the power “the right” use against “the wrong”

who have chosen eternal friends among mortal enemies

who have cherished the tumultuous landscape of every heart

re-educate us, re-enlighten us, re-create us with your definiteness:

Either you are Holy or you are not

Either you are Life or you are not

Either you are The Way or you are not

By grace and to our own advantage,

we confess that you are.

Amen.