love endures

It is strangely silent O Lord

Our gathering places are empty

And the sound of commerce is gone from our streets

We watch helpless

as an unseen contagion stalks the land

and watch fearfully as pundits report the latest death toll

and report the latest numbers from Wall Street

our cars sit idle

our planes are grounded

our office buildings are empty

and we are assailed

by the dark weight of fear and loneliness

by the specter of poverty

and illness

Bewildered we rail against the injustice of it all

Angry we seek enemies to blame

Anxious we become fearful hoarders

But we can do so little

We are humbled by this adversary

Who has brought us to this place

Of silence

But we are not alone, O Lord

We are never alone

For you are with us, woven into the fabric

Of these frail and vulnerable bodies

Present in our aching hearts

And fearful souls

You, Love

Are incarnate in us

and we are lifted up

from this time of death and darkness

We know O Sacred One

that with you, new life starts in the dark…

that you will come to us in this our time of darkness

and birth us from above

with the power of your Presence

This is what you do, this is who you are

You place a song in our hearts

And words of kindness and comfort on our lips

You calm our minds

And warm our hearts

You fill our souls with your peace

And move us to acts of compassion and kindness

And so even as the darkness creeps

And fear tugs at our hearts

We trust, O Lord, in your unfailing love;

Even in this time of contagion our hearts rejoice

and we sing your praise

for your love endures

forever