A Concord Pastor Comments: Monday Morning Offering

Image: George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

I was driving into Boston on Friday afternoon
when, through my windshield,
you aimed the sun
into my eyes, my mind, my soul...

Your brilliance pushed me back,
my eyes squinting,
focusing intensely on the road ahead
and with the sun, a flashlight in your hand,
you snapped me to attention!

And with the light came the heat of you
warming my flesh and whispering,
"I've got you!"

And you did.
You had me!
For a few minutes on 95,
you had me in the palm of your hand
and I wondered aloud, "What're you doing?"

But I knew exactly what you were doing...

You were in my face, in my eyes,
with light to dazzle and remind
that even as the leaves fall and winter waits,
you warm me inside out:
my flesh, my heart and soul, my mind...

Lord, have mercy!
How often, so turned inside myself,
do I miss the moments
when you hold the sun in my path
and warm my heart with light
no darkness can douse?

Christ, have mercy!
How often, so chilled in my own grief,
do I shrug off the warmth of your embrace
reaching out to blanket me
in love that never fails?

Lord, have mercy!
How often, dazzled by your beauty glimpsed,
do I shut my eyes closed tight
and blind my soul to hope
and choose a path of tears?

Lord, have mercy!
Christ, have mercy!
Lord, have mercy!

Before the leaves have fallen, all
and winter chills what warmth is left:
open up my heart, Lord:
to see what you would have me see;
to find your furnaced heart's embrace;
to catch a glimpse of hope as seasons change...

I offer you my prayer,
this Monday morning, Lord,
for all the times I've missed
the light, the warmth, the hope
I found on Friday afternoon
and waits for me today, tonight
and through the week ahead...

Amen.

(Click here for an archive of Monday Morning Offerings)