No newness yet

A prayer of Walter Brueggemann

You are the God who makes all things new.

We gladly raise our voices and move our lips
to acknowledge, celebrate, and proclaim
your staggering newness.

As we do so, we hold in our hearts
deep awareness of all the places where your newness
is not visible, and
has not yet come.

Our hearts link to many places of wretchedness
short of your newness.

We picture folks at home,
sick, in pain, disabled, paralyzed
(we name Frank),
and no newness yet.

We know up close the deep wretchedness
of poverty, of homelessness, of hunger
and no newness yet.

Move our hearts closer to the passion of our lips.

Move our lips closer to your own newness.

Work your newness in hidden, cunning ways among us.

Move us closer to your bodied newness in Jesus,
newness of strength come in weakness,
newness of wisdom come in foolishness.

Draw us from the wretchedness we know
to his scarred, bloody wretchedness
that is your odd entry of newness into our life.

We pray in the name of his suffering newness.

Amen.

Hat tip: Beautiful Bree, Current HNGR Intern in Rwanda