This is a wonderful poem that I heard read at our congregation at the Free Congregation of Sauk County, and it touched me enough to post it. It is written by Rebecca Parker, a Methodist/Unitarian Universalist minister, who attended famous UU seminary the Starr King Seminary.
Choose to Bless the World by Rebecca Parker
Your gifts—whatever you discover them to be—
can be used to bless or curse the world
The mind’s power,
The strength of the hands,
The reaches of the heart,
The gift of speaking, listening, imagining, seeing, waitingAny of these can serve to feed the hungry,
Bind up wounds,
Welcome the stranger,
Praise what is sacred,
Do the work of justice
Or offer love.Any of these can draw down the prison door,
Hoard bread,
Abandon the poor,Obscure what is holy,
Comply with injustice
Or withhold love.You must answer this question:
What will you do with your gifts?Choose to bless the world.
The choice to bless the world is more than an act of will,
A moving forward into the world
With the Intention to do good.
It is an act of recognition, a confession of surprise, a grateful acknowledgment
That in the midst of a broken world
Unspeakable beauty, grace and mystery abide.There is an embrace of kindness that encompasses all life, even yours.
And while there is injustice, anesthetization, or evil
There moves
A holy disturbance,
A benevolent rage,
A revolutionary love,
Protesting, urging, insisting
That which is sacred will not be defiled.Those who bless the world live their life as a gesture of thanks
For this beauty
And this rage.The choice to bless the world can take you into solitude
To search for the sources of power and grace;
Native wisdom, healing, and liberation.More, the choice will draw you into community,
The endeavor shared,
The heritage passed on,
The companionship of struggle,
The importance of keeping faith,
The life of ritual and praise,
The comfort of human friendship,
The company of earth
The chorus of life welcoming you.None of us alone can save the world.
Together—that is another possibility waiting.
Read More
- Starr King Unitarian Universalist Seminary
- Choose to Bless the World by Rebecca Parker
