HYMN
Where do I find my rest O God?
I am indentured and harnessed
under the mantle you
placed on my shoulders just days ago--
the chasuble and stole
I gladly accepted.
My body is slight and weak,
yet the demands of your people
are strong.
So are the claws of demons.
How many persons will my arms lift up?
How much of the people's distress
will my shoulders carry?
I bend like a willow tree,
my heels inscribe upon the ground
a word of restlessness and loss--
my endurance is a hill of sand
exploded by the breeze.
Where do I find my rest O God?
You provide no apprenticeship
for your new priests O Lord,
no Melchizadek or Basil to help them
stay the course.
My delight in running the race
wavers at each turn of the road;
the finish line becomes my elusive enemy,
the pedestal is my tempter.
But you, my Father, adopted me
when I took my first halting steps.
You accepted me when I was young
and learned to love your Daughter.
You bless my life with health and stability
even as I struggle to free my heart
from self-reproach and imperfection.
Teach me O God how to wait in quiet,
to seek the rest you command me
to enjoy.
Do not permit your faithful minister
to forsake your peace, to ignore
the calm repose
that comes only from you.
I pray for contentment in the Lord.
Your Word refreshes my heart's desire,
Enter my sanctuary and learn from me;
and so I give you thanks and praise
for all that you have accomplished,
for your gift of love and protection.
Help to accept O Lord your love
in all its mysterious ways.
It is the Lord's voice that rouses me to sing
the hymn of creation written
upon my soul--
Let me be your instrument O God!
October 1994
