“Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, Lord,
take and seal it,
seal it for they courts above.”
Fall on me, Lord.
Fall on us.
How we long to say with the prophet Isaiah,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me…”
The Lord has chosen me –
has chosen us, even as Jesus himself was chosen –
to do such good work in the world:
to bring good news
to bind broken hearts
to speak freedom to those who are bound
to bring light to those who live in darkness
to say that the time of justice is now
to bring comfort to all those who mourn over what’s been done to them.
But so many people have lost so much, Lord,
that we know in and of ourselves – we ain’t got…
no good news
no miraculous salve
no gigantic, prison-opening key
no powerful lantern
no ability to bring fairness and order to a world
marred by inequity and chaos
no word of hope in a time of loss and loneliness.
Which is exactly why we hunger for an anointing, Lord God.
A touch, a mark, a physical reminder –
that we don’t have to rely
on what we’ve got in and of ourselves
to do your work,
thank God.
We need you.
We need you to touch us,
to mark us as your own,
to remind us, deep within, that your Holy Spirit can do
in and through us
what we cannot do on our own.
For you, Holy Spirit, are the only true source for the work
we are called, chosen, anointed to do.
So, we come to you today – weary, heavy-laden,
and we are bold to ask for an anointing, Lord.
A sign –
an inner certainty –
a centering calm –
a reassuring, internal nod of the head
that speaks to us of YOU,
and of your call on our lives to do your work.
Speak powerfully to us through your servant Don this morning.
Sing to us through your Word.
Breathe in us, O Breath of Life.
Breathe through us,
enlivening our hearts,
enriching our conversation,
loosening our wallets,
strengthening our weak hands and our feeble knees,
calling us to our best selves,
urging us to do your good work,
loving us into conformity to your will,
molding us into disciples of Jesus in
every corner of our lives,
every minute of our days,
taking every thought captive
so that we might become
people who “restore the places long devastated,”
people who “renew those who are ruined,”
people who not only preach the good news,
but are the good news in a world that needs such news
more than it even knows.
For Jesus’ sake we pray. Amen.
