A New Years Prayer

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

What can it mean that God would slip into the vulnerability of skin and be made flesh? Seems a lousy idea in a way, given the very sloppy and broken reality of our physical lives as humans.  Our bodies bruise and decay and disappoint us, and sag insistently toward the earth so why in the world would God not spare God’s self the indignity of having things like sweat glands and the hiccups?

                                                              Nadia Bolz-Weber (A New Years Message)

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On this last day of the year

My mind is a bit frayed

There are loose threads everywhere

And sometimes it feels as if, were I to pull one

Everything would come unraveled

One thread is “incarnation”

The idea that the Sacred would “slip into the vulnerability of skin”

Blows my mind

But what is even more staggering is the idea that the incarnation did not end

With the death and resurrection of Jesus

If we learn nothing else from the Jesus last intimate teachings

Offered to his disciples, it is this

That in the Spirit the incarnation continues, through the lives of the people in who

are awake to, and open to the working of

The Spirit, advocate, comforter, guide,

Another thread is “word”

In Genesis we see the power of the word

God spoke, and chaos became order

Darkness became light

God spoke (or perhaps even sang)

And as the divine music moved through the still air

Beauty was born

Mountains, rivers, clouds, birds, the animals

Us

We were born

When I weave incarnation and word together

What I end up with

Is

Prayer

Prayer is the spirit putting into words

The unbearable longings of one’s heart

The dreams

The fears

The hopes

The joy

The anger

Everything

We speak and something happens

In the Spirit the words are more than words

But take on life

And live in our minds, our hearts, our souls

(however you want to think about it)

And perhaps become incarnate

And live in our thoughts, our attitudes, and our behaviors

And so this brings me to

This moment

When the fog lingers

This moment

When one year fades away and another emerges

This moment

When it seems like a good time to pray

So here is my New Year’s prayer

Dear One

This year may I be the incarnation

Through your Spirit

Slip into the vulnerability of this flesh

And make yourself real

In me and through me

Be in my mind

Help me to use it well

That I might sort through all the input that comes my way

Help me to set aside my prejudices

And my old patters and perceptions

Help me to be critical

And never settle for what is comfortable and convenient

But always seek what is true

Really true

Be in my eyes

Help me to see things as they really are

Help me to see people as they really are

Help me see past the facades

To what is real

Do not let me be seduced by the trappings of power and wealth

Do not let me be repelled by the detritus of poverty,

Help me to see past physical beauty, or lack of beauty

Help me to see past color or creed

And see only Sacred children

Full of beauty and grace

Precious souls

Immeasurably valuable

Be in my words

That they might be words that build

Create

Soothe

Heal

Be in my hands, and my feet

That I might do the works of love

That I might comfort those in pain

Visit those who are lonely and afraid

Listen to those who feel they have no voice

Be in my days

That I might be a person who

Works to help anyone who is vulnerable

Help me to fight for justice

And demand equity (even if there is a cost for myself)

Help me to feed the hungry, house the homeless

Help me to provide people with what they need to live

But more

What they need to flourish

O Sacred One

I am yours

This year may I be the incarnation

Through your Spirit

Slip into the vulnerability of this flesh

And make yourself real

In me and through me

Because I certainly cannot do this on my own

Amen