Prayer for a Beloved Boy

Oh God,

I remember Job, King Neco of Egypt, the Magi from the East.

I can’t help but ask,

“Can’t You do it again?”

Aren’t You doing it again and again?

It is my greatest hope

that I have rightly understood You

and Your plan to unite

all things

in heaven and on earth

in Yourself,

making peace

by the blood of the cross of Jesus.

Jesus,

Jesus,

the one and only savior

of the world.

Oh Jesus,

I recognize the possibility

that my understanding and hope are misguided,

and I want to proclaim:

“No matter what happens

to him,

You are my God.”

But I must ask on his behalf

what the trembling prison guard asked Paul and Silas

after witnessing a miraculous liberation.

Must this boy somehow learn to call himself by our name,

denying his identity in the eyes of his world

and thus in his own?

Even before I knew that identity, my whole being felt compelled

not just to love, but to revere this precious boy,

whose destiny I now strive to ascertain

and secure.

Oh Father God,

Mother God,

Brother God,

Sister God,

One God

who creates, sustains, redeems:

I’ve loved this boy ever since I began,

and You’ve loved this boy ever since the beginning,

and he loves You.

He wants to be like You

and seems to understand the beauty of Your cross.

Tell me, God:

Is that enough?

Please, God.

Let it be

enough.

Amen