Lectionary readings (Click the links to see the readings): Daniel 3.14-28 | Song of the Three Young Men (APBA p.399) | John 8.31-42

HOPE

Nuance

With the cathedrals thundering
at him, history proving
him the two-faced god, there were
the few who waited on him
in the small hours, undaunted
by the absence of an echo
to their Amens. Physics' suggestion
is they were not wrong. Reality
is composed of waves and particles
coming at us as the Janus-faced
chooses. We must not despair.
The invisible is yet susceptible
of being inferred. To pray perhaps, is
to have a part in an infinitesimal deflection.

—R. S. Thomas. No truce with the Furies.
Highgreen: Bloodaxe, 1995.

Launching a Prayer

The stripling posturing
before the hero;
the mature man
posturing before

God. Circularity
is endless, yet
one prayer, slipping
the reason, speeds out

into the cornerless
universe so close to God
as to open a crater
in his composure.

—R. S. Thomas. Residues.
Highgreen: Bloodaxe, 2002.

… there were the few who waited on him in the small hours, undaunted …"

Prayer

Lord Jesus, you went without fear among those who sought your life.
Give us boldness to confess you before others
and readiness to bear your cross,
that you may also confess us before your Father who is in heaven.