19/20

it is
unstable internet connection
lego pressing sharp into foot flesh
angry words exchanged
diminishing bank balance
job insecurity

it is
a listening ear
round abundance of picked produce from the garden
kindness of a masked stranger in supermarket queue
eating the fruits of a factory worker’s labour
quietness at sunset

it unveils
individualism’s gauzy lie
not self-made
nor self-sustaining
not islands, though in isolation

mediated to us, the masks of God
many faced, the One who blesses us
and we the face of Christ to others

cup of water
grocery shop for aging neighbour
phone-call maker
late night pray-er
story reader
present to another

prayer for daily bread answered
miracle received in solitary bag of flour
on exhausted supermarket shelf

as
economies collapse
ventilators, sanitiser, PPE
new global currency

incarnation finds us in unlikely faces
we unknowingly incarnate for another
grasp this as the measure, the whole
of being human, we of Eden and of Christ

to bless the world and to be blessed
in such a time as this

Miriam J. Fisher is an Education Lecturer and Masters of Theology student at Laidlaw College. She lives in Ōtautahi/Christchurch and has a particular interest in the Arts, both educationally, and in spiritual formation and transformation. In faith and education, she is interested in an expression that honours the context of Aotearoa and all the richness of bicultural partnerships, including the use of Te Reo and NZSL. Miriam loves the dramatic and colourful as well as contemplative spirituality. She enjoys experimentation with stitches, fabric, and words, and seeks to integrate these into her spiritual practice.