At Communion

Whether I kneel or stand or sit in prayer
I am not caught in time nor held in space,
But, thrust beyond this posture, I am where
Time and eternity are face to face;
Infinity and space meet in this place
Where crossbar and upright hold the One
In agony and in all Love's embrace.
The power in helplessness which was begun
When all the brilliance of the flaming sun
Contained itself in the small confines of a child
Now comes to me in this strange action done
In mystery. Break time, break space, O wild
and lovely power. Break me: thus I am dead
And resurrected now in wine and bread.

-- Madeleine L'Engle (1918-2007), American novelist, poet, and Episcopalian, meditation for April 6 in Glimpses of Grace: Daily Thoughts and Reflections

The altar at Camp Phoenix, set for the Camp Eucharist service