Poem for Maundy Thursday

Broken Moments 

There is that experience we all know well.

When the glass slips from our grasp,

When the plate plummets from our palm,

When the measuring cup free falls from our fingers.

Crashing chaotically on the ground.

The eerie sounds of that which is fragile,

Smacking against that which is solid, fierce.

When the vulnerable lands against an unforgiving,

And unrelenting force.

Suddenly sharp shards of glass scatter across the floor.

Splintering and sprinting in all directions

The small pieces suddenly free to escape to corners far flung.

We know this well because it not happened once,

But because it is happening all the time.

When the sharp shards of life scatter across our days and years.

When relationships we thought invincible;

When our bodies we believed immortal;

When our hearts once taught to be impermeable;

Suddenly encounter forces and our lives feel fragile as glass.

We bring broken moments tonight to the table.

Words spoken too quickly.

Hurts and harms we can’t quite let go of.

Neighbors we struggle to love.

People we refer to as, “Them” and “Those”, rather than, “Beloved.”

Places our community is caught in a rut of injustice.

Spaces where we have lost our capacity to talk so we shout.

Enter in to the broken moments, O God.

Sit with us in the shards of life, O Christ.

Help us trust in the slow work of the Spirit.

May the taste of bread and juice feed and fuel our lives,

this night, tomorrow, and for a thousand moments to come.

This is our prayer to You,

comma placing,

still creating,

loving us through the brokenness, God. 

Amen.