There is Room in the Chariot

Creation begins with a breath,

the Spirit’s wind moving

over waters and the deep.

Not only once and long ago,

but time and again, through

every chapter of formless void.

She blows through limits

and less than’s to declare

what should be, a symphony of Both:

light and darkness, dawn and dusk!

Chrome and compass of

God’s manifold image,

the treasures of darkness aglow.

Male and female, the fullness of being,

so good and enough from the start.

Creation begins with a breath,

snuffing out candles of category,

claims about who can tell it slant,

who can bear the full weight

of the Word made flesh.

Can you hear Elizabeth’s blessing?

She flings the door so wide and hard

the hinges wince! Her bold voice

is prophetic delight for every ear

while the men nearby remain quiet -

silent, sleeping, and not yet sure.

Can you hear Mary laughing?

It shakes her belly and her thighs,

it rumbles in her muscles and her milk.

She has felt the full weight

and she let him go for the whole world.

There is room in the chariot

for the full spectrum of beauty

still unfolding, still breathing, still blurring

harsh lines of gentile and gender

like watercolors expanding,

taking up space and announcing

new life even now. Even now!

We honor these anniversaries as

fifty years of Jubilee,

forty years of Wilderness,

ten rules on tablets,

a vision of expectations

broken and reborn.

We worship the God who begins with breath,

who anoints leaders anyway

and without our permission, the One who

raises dry bones and blesses the whole body

with more than we dared to ask or imagine.

Inspired by the 50/40/10 Anniversaries of Ordination in the ELCA.

Image by Tyler Feder, used with permission. If you haven’t seen Tyler’s Etsy shop roaringsoftly … What. Are. You. Waiting. For.