Monday, August 23, 2021

Armor of Light

Steve Garnass-Holmes

The night is far gone, the day is near.
        Let us then cast off the works of darkness
         and put on the armor of light.
                  — Romans 13.12

Confident that the Graceful One is coming—
not in a shower of stars to startle empires
but manger-humble—
and coming any moment—
be done with the hard armor of this world
that disguises despair,
that covers fear and self-doubt,
the helmet of apathy and the breastplate of cynicism,
the mail coat of not having to get involved,
the shield of violence and domination.

Instead let this be your only armor:
that you shine with light,
that you are clothed in the Beloved—
not because it shields you from suffering
but because it gives you courage to love.
In this you yourself become
a sign of the Coming,

and indeed
in this
the Loving One
comes.