Saturday, December 12

Psalms 30, 32; Haggai 2:1-9; Matthew 24:1-14

 
Listen to the author read their meditation and prayer:
The Rev. Kellaura Johnson Advent Meditation
A cloud of honey bees swarms around the walls of Salisbury Cathedral. The bees cling to the lichened stones, ascending and descending from a cleft high up. Lower down, a colony of ladybugs navigates the clumps of moss sprouting from the carvings. How much longer until the stones are replaced entirely by honeycomb, until the ladybugs will sleep between walls more moss than stone? How long will this new creation take? Or shall these small inhabitants be scoured away, the stones left raw and clean in the failing sunlight? What will endure?
Surely not these stones which shall be thrown down, built as they are on a base of gravel and water. Surely, the gradual honeycombing and mossing of the cathedral will be the final result of centuries of prayer. A clerestory of translucent beeswax. Golden honey dripping from the rib vaults. Stoney saints in soft garments of lichen and moss. Ladybugs sleeping in the choir stalls where our songs have been replaced by their tiny snores.
Do not be alarmed when the scaffolding starts to scale the stones and the power washer springs to life. The new creation’s not-yet is perpetuated by our fitful fixing and conscientious cleansing. The lichen’s good news is that what endures to the end will be saved. Stones will tumble, but life will endure.
Grant me strength to persevere through all destruction, distraction and sorrow, and grace to see my life hidden in you.  Amen.
The Rev. Kellaura Johnson, ‘14
Curate, Calvary Episcopal Church & School
RICHMOND, TEXAS

The Rev. Kellaura Johnson, ‘14 is the curate  at Calvary Episcopal Church & School in Richmond, Texas. She enjoys gardening and playing the banjo; tackling both these activities with enthusiasm but with little skill or success.  This keeps her both happy and humble.