There is always light

...our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it
If only we’re brave enough to be it
— Amanda Gorman, in “The Hill We Climb”

I was riven by Amanda Gorman's fiercely resolute poem for the inauguration, drawn not only by the images of light, but the way she lays out what the light demands of us. Where can we find light, she asks, among all the shade of events recent and distant? Look around, look inside. Strive, not for the perfect union, but "forge a union with purpose." Look not at "what stands between us/but what stands before us".

She demands we see ourselves, see each other, as aflame, always alight, always light. If you wish, she whispers, you can be all flame.

Jesus, Light of the World, shine upon us, and within us.
Shine the light of hope into our despondency;
Shine the light of truth into our world, and into our minds;
Shine the light of peace into places of division and conflict;
Shine the light of new possibilities into our stuckness;
Shine the light of joy and laughter into our boredom;
Shine the light of faith and trust into our fears and anxiety;
Shine the light of your presence into our loneliness;
Jesus, Light of the World, shine upon us, and within us.


Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation