Scripture-Based Writings
Let Me Bless the Borrowed Ride

The Great Litany

C Train To the Temple
If God answered my recent complaint as he had that of Jeremiah



The Great Litany
Lenten Devotional for 2024


The Great Litany
It’s Sunday. We all clamber on, bow our heads, and get to the work at hand,
Rowing together amidst these lives.

   Have mercy

One huddles close to his wife, who is thin with cancer. He rows.
Another is pressed flat by loneliness; her house is filled with echoes. She rows.
Children run in the nave, downright riotous. We row for them.
Newlyweds try not to check their watches during the prayer. They row.

   Have mercy, have mercy

My daughter tells me she dreamt of my dying—
She’s 10 and seeing more of life now.
“When you're gone, how will I know you’re with me?”
I blink and look at her.
“We’ll pick a dear memory, and when you think of that, you’ll know you’re not alone.”
She smiles and goes off to play; I turn back to the dishes, stunned.

   Have mercy, have mercy, have mercy

We watch movies on the couch, my lanky child lying on me as she did when a baby.
I let her sleep, then catch a glimpse of my crepey hand and pull her close.
We are our own little boat tonight so I play coxswain,
But I wonder if I have done enough to show her the way.
Will she weather all that is coming?
Does she have what she needs to navigate the Deep?
As our breathing syncs and slows, my eyes become heavy
And we row into the night, our hearts keeping time —

   Have mercy, have mercy, have mercy, have mercy


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