The One Who Turned Back

The Ten Lepers, Jorge Cocco Sántangelo

      

(Luke 17:11-19)


Ten shattered bodies cried out
for mercy.

Quaking voices carried across distance
propelled by desperation,
a white sail of hope against hope,

their plea not answered in words. Only
"Show yourselves to be confirmed as clean"
and off they ran, aching
to cast off the smothering weight
of exile, the shunning
of those who affirmed their suffering
as mark of curse.

Each step feeling lighter, they rushed on,
all but one. The one who,
even when cleansed, would be
scorned as a mangy mongrel.
Doubly outcast,
his most tenuous claim to hope
convicted the wary heart, and
ignited the fragile embers of faith.

Perhaps for him, the gift
loomed larger, the removal
of living death more precious, the kindness
the more radiant
for being given despite barriers.

Mercy admits no calculus
of worthiness;
gratitude respects no boundary.
One turned back to rejoice and sing out thanks
from the dust.

Ten were cleansed.
One was healed.

-- Leslie Barnes Scoopmire

Sonnet: Prayer

     

Was it in Sunday school that we were taught
That prayer only counted when by rote;
This notion somehow lodged deep when we thought
To talk to God as if reciting quotes?
The words staccato sounds in breathless rhymes-- 
To bless our relatives, while half-asleep;
Confessing each day’s sins with guilty minds;
The fear of “praying God our souls to keep.”

We never thought that God might answer back.
We never thought to listen without words:
To feel God’s hand in midnight’s sacred black,
To hear God’s blessing in the song of birds,
To make a grateful bowl within each heart,
To practice prayer as welcome and as art.

------------------Leslie Barnes Scoopmire, 2025

Gathering Prayer for Un-Ordinary Time

Presider      God of the Lark,
God of the Aspen Grove,
we join with all your creatures
in a chorus of praise and worship.

All           We are upheld by your almighty hand;
all that we have and are is yours,
and we bow in gratitude before you.

Presider      May we echo the humble thanksgiving
sung out by cicada and tree frog,
who praise You and your provision without ceasing.

All           May we find delight in the labor you set before us,
as the hummingbird does.

Presider      May we lift our arms to you in praise
like the oak as it stretches skyward.

All           May we constantly sing your praises
like the wind that weaves through pine-needle
and sets them to resonating in joy.

Presider      May we open our hearts to your guidance
for our own sake and the sake of the world,
led by wisdom of the Spirit of Truth,
enlightened by the example of the Prince of Peace,
rooted deep in the verdant garden of the God of Life.

All           Holy Trinity, One God,
envelop us in your mercy and grace this day,

                  that we may be transformed by worship and prayer

              Into bold icons of your love and faithfulness in the world.

--Leslie Barnes Scoopmire, copyright 2023

Praise Song at Dawn

Loving Creator,

we rise from our rest to sing your praise,
joining the world You have made holy
through your hands, O God.

The coyotes are back in their dens,
after antagonizing the farm dogs all night;
the barred owls have paused their conversation
under the lacy veil of heaven at sun rise;
katydid, tree frog, and cricket have raised their song
and filled the night with the throb of their praise:
now it is time for us to lift our hearts
and join in the love song of the Earth for our Maker.

Almighty One, this moment is your gift to us, too:
let us use it to center ourselves in your grace.
Let us in our prayer give thanks
for all your blessings to us,
especially this fragile Earth:
may we seek to mend and heal
the frayed cords that bind us to all creation,
and see with new eyes the beauty and completeness
in a drop of rain or sparkle of dew.

The Earth beneath our feet
is your gift to all that lives,
to animal, tree, and stream: all creation is holy.
May we care for each other with tenderness and unity,
walking in the healing path that Jesus invites us to follow.
Tune our hearts to always hear
the echo of our Savior’s laughter and empathy
through the air that still carries the imprint
of his breath and blessing.

Spirit of the Living God,
spread your wings over us
that we may be strengthened to joyfully greet this day,
and grant your peace to all for whom we pray.

Amen.

-- Leslie Barnes Scoopmire. This was first published at Episcopal Journal's Speaking to the Soul on September 1, 2022.

Praise Song for a Bright Winter's Day

As morning light gilds the heavens,
drawing an azure veil over the dancing stars,
we praise you, O God.

As noonday sun makes shadows disappear,
we think of your steadfast love beside us,
through whatever may come,
and we praise you, O God.

Though winter chill abides with us still,
we hear the whispered promise of spring
as the dry branches murmur their secret
of abundant green life rising, surging,
deep within their veins,
and we wonder in awe of your mysteries,
O Lord of Creation.

As evening sets the sky alight,
catching fire to the wingtips of darting sparrows
whose trills of joy stir an echo of hope
even within the winter heart,
we remember your tender care, O Holy One,
your watchful eye on the smallest creature,
and we praise your steadfast lovingkindness.

Even as the shoulder of Earth
turns toward night with a sigh,
like a sleeper settling deeper into dreams,
so we too rest secure, Blessed Savior,
within the bounds of your mercy,
and ask for your healing hand
to rest upon the brow of all for whom we pray
by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

--LKS, February 8, 2019