After The "Let Us Pray"

At the end of the message on Sunday morning, I said, "Let us pray."

For a moment, we sat in holy silence.

For a moment, we let God's voice penetrate our hearts and settle into our minds. We let the stillness do the work that God's still-yet-fully-alive-and-moving-spirit alone can do.

And then, I sang this prayer:

You say we are to love you, Lord
With all our hearts and minds
And souls and strength
And that we are to love our neighbors as our ourselves
But how are we to love you, Lord
And love them, too, with our whole selves
When we don't even know who we are
Or how to love ourselves
Help us, Lord
Help us, Lord

And then the congregation stood and sang with me:

Imagine you,
Imagine me,
Imagine us walking through this land
Giving love,
Receiving love,
Living love as we take God's hand
Imagine all of the people
Whose lives would be changed
If we would listen and show God's grace
Imagine that.

Do you know how humbling it is to hear a church full of people praying your prayer with you--singing your song? Do you sense the vision of imagination? Of learning to love and accept ourselves so that we can fully live in community--in the larger body that we call Christ? Do you know how beautiful it is to see two boys publically acknowledging that they have chosen to be part of this body?

What a beautiful moment after the "Let us pray..."

Have you ever had a moment like that?