A poem based on Luke 20.27-38, 2 Thessalonians 2.15 & Job 19.23-27
Written by Rev. Lori Keyser-Boswell
Pastor of Mt. Zion Lutheran Church, Yreka, CA
It seems, during his ministry, religious scholars and power brokers often ask Jesus trick questions such as the hypothetical seven-timed widowed woman of Luke 20. I am choosing to offer these searchers a bit of grace and recognize that, although I do not seek to trick Jesus or catch him in a conundrum, I, too, struggle with hypothetical “what ifs”.
Pondering my own temptation to run down the rabbit hole of debates over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin and the like, I am stopping to pray:
What if
What if, Dear Holy One?
My mind is a flurry with “what ifs” and “what abouts”
What if I haven’t ENOUGH faith?
I DOUBT your promise?
I BETRAY you?
I am WRONG?
What about those who REFUSE to accept you?
the call for REPENTANCE?
faith being dead without WORKS?
the UNFORGIVABLE sin?
How can I be sure?
be sure there IS resurrection
be sure I am LOVED unconditionally?
be sure the brokenness of this world will be REDEEMED?
Then I hear your voice
TRUST ME
We parents listen to all our children’s “what ifs” and “what abouts”
we listen, and sometimes our answer is an EMBRACE and
“I cannot explain it to you yet... TRUST me”
So Dear Holy One
may I FALL deeper into your embrace
may I TRUST your promises
may I HOLD fast to all you have taught me
may I BELIEVE (even if only a little) that what I can see and imagine now are not all there is
that all my “what ifs” will be answered
that I will be lead out of the maze of “what abouts”
Because
I am your child
we are your children
You give LIFE and
in You WE ALL ARE ALIVE