After Florida's Plane Crash

Lord of Highest Heaven,today we are brought down low.Your people have soared to breathtaking heights,marveling at the ingenuity of flight,the gift of swift passage,the wonder of a bird’s-eye view—only to be brought down in flame and reduced to ash.

You were there when we ascended into the heavens,taking the wings of the morning.You were there empowering every feat of engineering,and you will be here in the pit of destruction.Even here, your hand will hold us fast.

Hold us fast, Searching, Knowing, Present One.Hold fast the families mourning those suddenly lost.Hold fast the injured, brought low and broken,who face an enduring trial.Hold fast the anxiouswho fear the journey over the jet bridgeand into a cloudy expanse of helpless dependence.Hold fast any whose mistakes led to this tragedy;speak words of love to counter the guilt.

But there has never once been a moment when we weren’tutterly dependent on you, Worker of Wonders.We are finite and frail and vulnerable,reliant on your understandingfor our very life and breath.Teach us the wholehearted trustof a little child with a good parent,so that we walk by faith,overflowing with the peace and joyof one who is fully known, seen, and cared forby the Lord of Highest Heaven.

Amen