Dear
One: Sunrise is
the brightness gilding your temple, ocean fog is the
congealed vapor of
your prayerful breath. Noontime
announces your
supremacy over the sweltering
earth. In
the labyrinth of the forest we lose our way
and
find yours. In
the vast openness of the desert our
human pride withers, desiccates,
in
the hot wind of your Spirit. Struggling up the
mountainside, every step reminds us
of
the gravity by
which you bind us into your
creation. Into the wilderness
which you have created
within our souls, we
now enter in
reverent silence, seeking and finding
you here, in
this place beyond our conscious knowing, that realm beyond the ego's
control. Into this wilderness
we
now sojourn, ready and willing to
face the demons and angels, the
glorious sunsets and
the slithering snakes, that may await
us. Give us this day the
bread we need for food, as
well as the bread we need for our souls --
joy, pain, loss, gain,
insight, creativity, compassion, action,
contemplation. Open us
to
receive your limitless acceptance of us, just as we are
with all our failings
and foibles, and
open us likewise to a forgiving
acceptance of
the people who hurt us. Lead us to temptation
so
we can face it, but
lead us not into its clutches. Deliver us to
evil so
that we can name it and
confront it, but
then deliver us from its grasp. All
around us and
within us is
the wildness and wonder of
your kingdom, your power,
and
your glory, forever. Amen!
Jim Burklo is the Senior Associate Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life at the University of Southern California. He is an ordained United Church of Christ pastor and is the author of six published books on progressive Christianity. He is an honorary advisor for ProgressiveChristianity.org and a member of the board of directors of ProgressiveChristiansUniting.org.