Sunday | Laying the Foundation (Peace)

Words for the Beginning
Read: Luke 1:57-80
Poem by: Rev. Sarah (Are) Speed

If I could give you words
for the very beginning—
for the stretches
and the yawns,
and the opening of eyes,
for the first hiccups,
and the first smiles,
and the first purse of your lips,
I would say,
“Oh, dear child,
how you are loved.”

But the thing about love
is you can’t stop there,
so I would go on to say,
“You are strong,
stronger than you think.
And you are not alone—
look at these parents
     who adore you
and these doctors and
     nurses fighting for you.
And you are enough,
     already enough.
You haven’t done anything yet.
You’ve just been here,
breathing,
sleeping,
and already, you are enough.
And then I might say,
“This world is a mess,
but it is your home,
and you can make it better,
so always try to make it better.

And maybe most important
     of all:
there is a love
that is bigger than
     my understanding,
that moves through
     this world,
and I call that love God.
And that love is here,
here in this room,
and that love knows
your name by heart.”

Those are the words
     I would say to you
as you stretch and yawn
     and open your eyes
on the very first morning
of your very first day.
Let that be your foundation,
like Zechariah did for John.
Let love be your beginning.

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