The Fourth Sunday of Easter

God of grace and love,

History is filled
With names like
Alexander,
Hannibal,
Caesar,
Napoleon;
Men who took up arms,
And with violence,
Bent the world to their will.

But history whispers
Of others,
The faceless ones,
Who were deemed
To insignificant to name.

We think of the woman
Who, with her daughter,
Gave her son to the Nile,
Yet found a way to get him back,
And by saving her son,
Saved a people from their bondage.

The world sees those
Who bear swords,
And calls them heroic.
What greater courage
Has the one
Who faces the sword
With compassion and love?

Amen