Streams of Mercy

In this week’s edition of The Presbyterian Outlook, I read a beautiful “lament.” A lament is an expression of grief or sorrow over something; it’s a crying out to God about that grief or sorrow. This lament was written by the Agape Circle Presbyterian Women’s Group at First Presbyterian Church of Greenville, Tennessee. I’m sharing a part of their lament, words that capture many things we are feeling these days.

“How Long, O Lord?”

… We lament the losses

of connection to others

during this pandemic

… How long has it been since

we looked each other in the smile?

How long since

friendship’s physical embrace

slowed our heart,

deepened our breath,

and enlivened our spirit?

How long since songs

flowed from hearts,

across vocal cords,

as our voices echoed

off the walls

and were absorbed by one another’s bodies?

How long since our bodies felt

the familiar contour

of pew, cushion and floor,

or maybe choir loft chair;

since our eyes rested

on well-known architectural lines,

and the faces and shapes

of faith companions on the journey,

lit by refraction through stained-glass stories?

Knit us together,

O holy loom-keeper,

removing unjust thoughts

and actions.

Make us your people

and let us once again celebrate

Communion with bread and cup,

shoulder to shoulder

and heart to heart.

Nourish us with your courage,

that we may be and become

your loaf and cup

for our hungry and thirsty world.

I’m thankful for those who find words to give voice to shared feelings of these days. Praying for the time when we can all be together again, and giving thanks for those “streams of mercy, never ceasing,” to carry us through.

Elizabeth