on listening and speaking
(If we use “black and white” to mean straightforward, simple, uncomplicated - why do we call one another “black” and “white” when we’re none of those things, let alone “black” or “white?”)
Lord, You delight in paradox.
You have called us both to speak and to listen, yet You have made it impossible for us to do both at the same time.
You have given us ears to hear: if we don’t listen, we can’t understand.
You have given us words to speak: if we remain silent, we remain separated.
Lord, You delight in paradox.
You, our Father, delight in us as You have created us. You did not create us fallen or broken - we have done that ourselves - but in Christ You have redeemed us and You are restoring us. Complicated, and messy, and called to belong, to You and to each other, in Your Holy Spirit.
Help us all continue to attend - to each other and to You.
Amen.