11th Hour Preacher Party: We're in this together, edition

Today again I am hardly myself.
It happens over and over.
It is heaven-sent.

It flows through me
like the blue wave.
Green leaves – you may believe this or not –
have once or twice
emerged from the tips of my fingers

somewhere
deep in the woods,
in the reckless seizure of spring.

Though, of course, I also know that other song,
the sweet passion of one-ness.

Just yesterday I watched an ant crossing a path, through the
          tumbled pine needles she toiled.
And I thought: she will never live another life but this one.
And I thought: if she lives her life with all her strength
          is she not wonderful and wise?
And I continued this up the miraculous pyramid of everything
          until I came to myself.

And still, even in these northern woods, on these hills of sand,
I have flown from the other window of myself
to become white heron, blue whale,
          red fox, hedgehog.
Oh, sometimes already my body has felt like the body of a flower!
Sometimes already my heart is a red parrot, perched
among strange, dark trees, flapping and screaming.

Mary Oliver From Five Points
Volume 6, No.3 2002

It's been quite a week in these United States, from the bombing at the Boston Marathon to the lockdown in Boston/Watertown and the capture of a 19 year old boy, one of two perpetrators of this week of violence. My heart feels strange, like it is perched in dark trees flapping and screaming. 

"These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb...the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them....for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

That sustainable sermon I thought I was going to preach this week, well that one seems ridiculous now. (What about you?...)

God, who restores my soul and walks with me through the valley of sorrow, help me to find words of mercy, words of comfort and solace, words to help us find our way to still waters...where we can be pray for this world. Words to relieve the suspense and remind us that we are one with God, and God is one with us. 

And somehow God will redeem the tragedies of this world, this life, and bring forth God's healing love. God, acting in and through the actions of love and compassion of all who carried others, helped others, gave for others...God's love and mercy revealed in the least expected ways.

Oh my.

So, where are you going with your sermon this Sunday? Do you feel called to address this directly? Or will you choose to say something else in the sermon time and address the events of this week in the prayers? Or do you live far away and the events in the USA have barely made the news? Or, are you facing your own issues and concerns of violence and injustice? Or....?

Are you thinking about the story in Acts? Or the 23rd Psalm? Or Revelation or the Gospel of John? Or are you using the Narrative Lectionary or off-lectionary this week?

Share with us your thoughts, your worries and concerns, and your hope. In the midst of trial and tribulation, the preacher party is place of sustenance, inspiration, and love...an oasis in the abyss.

I have coffee. Lots of coffee. And all varieties of tea. I am also sure I can whip up most anything else your stomach desires....we'll hang together to help our heart's desires, too. Pull up a chair, it's the 11th Hour and we're here to do this together, even if we don't feel much like partying.