Words: A Blessing & Confession

In the beginning was the Word…
— John 1:1

Words create worlds.
— Abraham Joshua Heschel

Grammar comes from glamour, which was a Scottish word for magic.
— Pádraig Ó Tuama

May the words I compose emerge from the creative force of Love. May they ooze with the open invitation to belong, to know and to be known that is always emanating from the circle dance of Father, Son and Spirit. And may they provide the spaciousness and encouragement needed for those I’m planted among to fully become themselves.

These lines come on the heels of a discovery.

I’ve become too accustomed to words mangled and misused, loaded and deployed and hell bent on destruction. Words lobbed towards another, and often a whole swath of people, seeking to obliterate, humiliate and dismiss their place and point of view.

I’ve become too at home among the dark arts in the realm of words. Shallow listening (the kind that doesn’t really seek to understand what the other is saying). Prioritizing proving a point over another’s personhood. Spending an inordinate amount of words, and time, debating or commenting on people and problems beyond my scope of influence and place.

In light of these things you can see why the blessing, stated longing and focused prayer posted above is needed, right? This time and place and the people who inhabit them are in need of words that create instead of destroy, and conversations that kindle the magic of connection, even though we’ll never agree on everything. At least that’s the case for me and those I’m planted among.

So here’s one final line for the prayer.

May I apprentice with the preeminent Word for the duration of my days, and be a practitioner who helps to bring form and beauty into the midst of this chaos.

Amen.