All Saints' Day Prayer

 1 John 3:1–3 

To be child of Holy One 

is to hope

that the dust will fall

from feet unwelcome 

across hostile thresholds 

that the system's shackles

do not bind us, as it seems

at present 

that the light piercing 

cracks in this broken

world is coming for us. 

We hope, because the Holy

children who went before

showed us how to hope,

and we give thanks 

for the saints, the flawed

faithful, our kin. 

We hope, because the Holy 

child Jesus lived this hope 

among us, showed us how 

to hope; and we give thanks

for the human incarnation,

the Spirit with him, Wisdom

within him, Creator before 

and we accept the invitation

to hope – to be 

child of Holy One. 

Amen.