Advent,  Spoken Word

The Darkest of Nights: Advent Poem #1

It is the darkest of nights

It has been this way

For a very long time

You are silent

But the earth is not

It groans

Like the creaking of

An abandoned house

Whose rooms

Were once filled with life

And now seems to weep

Because it knows emptiness

Is not what it was created for

Its darkened windows

Staring blankly

Crying out for light

To fill them once again.

Or like an old ship

In an ancient harbor

Rocking and swaying and creaking

Not really seaworthy

Still floating

But just barely

Or like my bones, groaning

Carrying too much weight

Aching

But still working,

Though in pain,

Not the way they were intended to be

We are decaying

When will the Life come to us?

You have given us a promise

And hope remains within our hearts

We’ve had glimpses of what’s to come

But understand only in part

Your prophets have told us stories

About the things to come

But we’ve often ignored them and gone our own way

Forgotten the promises, lost our faith

We’ve done so much that we regret

But don’t forget

Us Lord

We long to orient ourselves to You

But cannot find the way

We are stumbling around in the darkness

Oh help us God, we pray!

Has the root of Jesse withered

Or can we still expect it to bloom?

Is there still room

In our story for this?

We know You to be faithful

Even when we are not

And You have promised us a redeemer

A restorer

A savior for Your people

So we ask You to remember us still

For we have been waiting

In desperation

Since the fall of creation

We have been waiting

For years

And lifetimes

And generations

Since our mother and father first sinned

We have been waiting

And praying

And clinging to this hope.

While the seasons change

And the bones of our ancestors turn to dust

We have been waiting.

We feel both barren

And pregnant with expectation

And we wonder

When will You come?

Oh God we long for You to break Your silence

Speak to us

Not just in voice

But in flesh

Give us a word we can touch

Come into this darkness now

And place Your hand in ours

Lead us by example,

Through these still dark hours

We want to live where righteousness dwells

So come dwell with us now

We cannot find the light on our own

Come and show us how.

Our voices tire of crying out

Hoarse from years of praying

So we whisper, Oh come Immanuel

Or simply hold our breath

Wondering when You will come

And save us from this death

It is dark

Come be our light

Save us from

This endless night

 

 

 

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