for letting in light
and air
and for calling out to your neighbor,
I have good news!
A window is an opening
for letting in light
and air
and for calling out to your neighbor,
I have good news!
A window is a way to let things out—
Noah opened the window of the ark
To let in fresh air and get rid of the fetid odor.
Noah released a raven, then a dove
And the dove returned
Perched on the window ledge
with a branch of hope.
And through a window
By a rope
Rahab the prostitute let down two spies,
And that opening she made in trust
Led to her being counted as a hero of faith.
“Even if the LORD were to make windows in the sky,
could such a thing happen?” asked the king’s captain
He believed there were great fountains of the great deep
in the clouds above us
But he doubted Elisha’s God had the power to open them
Bringing an end to famine.
Do you believe God can make an opening in time
To pour down fountains of love
Getting us wet and soaked in grace
Giving us access to God
Through the person of Jesus?
Paul shouts at us in Romans 13
Look out the window and see
The night is far gone, day is near
Put on the armor of light!
Get out of bed and get dressed!
Be up and awake to what God is doing!
Jeremiah says:
Look out the window at the wet garden
See the black bark of an old, old tree
And from it springing
Pale green sprout
A righteous branch,
A new name for Jerusalem
“The Lord is our righteousness”
True, in human time plants grow too slow
To say, “I see it springing forth”
But the glass in this window is a lens
That focuses our seeing
With God’s long view.
Luke calls us to the window to witness
A terrific storm.
Signs in the sun, moon and stars
Nations confused
By the roaring of the waves.
The powers of heaven are shaken.
See the son of man
Coming in a cloud!
And then the lights in our house go out
Leaving us trembling
And tempted to run from the window
Pulling the curtains of safety
To close God out.
But this we dare not do!
Because prayer is not like hitting
The power button to lower a car window.
It is more like the sun—
Even with your eyes closed, you see warm red
And you remember there was lightening last night
And you take a deep breath
Then you open your eyes—
The window of your soul.
Margalea Warner writes from Coralville IA where she is part of a Mennonite congregation.