Morning Meditation

 

Yesterday, we centered our hearts on the poem prayer, First Coming, by Madeleine L’Engle.  I want to return to these words again today.  I find that re-reading a poem prayer several times on different days can help open me in new ways.  What I thought yesterday might shift suddenly when I read this poem prayer today.  Read now again these words with me.

He did not wait till the world was ready,
till men and nations were at peace.
He came when the Heavens were unsteady,
and prisoners cried out for release.

He did not wait for the perfect time.
He came when the need was deep and great.
He dined with sinners in all their grime,
turned water into wine.

He did not wait till hearts were pure.
In joy he came to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
To a world like ours, of anguished shame
he came, and his Light would not go out.

He came to a world which did not mesh,
to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
the Maker of the stars was born.

We cannot wait till the world is sane
to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, to touch our pain,
He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!

I am taken by the first two sentences.  God doesn’t need everything to be perfectly placed and beautifully wrapped before bursting and breaking into the world.  God comes still when we cry out for peace and the Heavens (not to mention the world) is unsteady.  God comes whether we are ready or not.  God comes amid the messiness and less-than-perfected-ness of this human life.  Pause with me on this part.  Where do you feel less than prepared for God’s entry?  Where are the closets of your life cluttered and crammed full of the stuff you shoved in there so that the living room of your life looked presentable?  What if God is in the messiness rather than the polished silver of the tea service?  What if God is found more in the exact place you least expect or prepared to receive God?  I pray today as you ponder these questions, you might encounter the present of Emmanuel with you in your life.  Amen.