Invitation to Love

*** Revised Common Lectionary *** Lectionary Reading: Matthew 10:40-42 CLASSIC POEM: Invitation to Love Paul Laurence Dunbar Come when the nights are bright with stars Or come when the moon is mellow; Come when the sun his golden bars Drops on the hay-field yellow. Come in the twilight soft and gray, Come in the night or come in the day, Come, O love, whene’er you may, And you are welcome, welcome. You are sweet, O Love, dear Love, You are soft as the nesting dove. Come to my heart and bring it to rest As the bird flies home to its welcome nest. Come when my heart is full of grief Or when my heart is merry; Come with the falling of the leaf Or with the redd’ning cherry. Come when the year’s first blossom blows, Come when the summer gleams and glows, Come with the winter’s drifting snows, And you are welcome, welcome. *** This poem is in the public domain, and may be read in a live-streamed worship service. CONTEMPORARY POEM: Last on Earth Mary Ruefle SNIPPET: … I do not have much experience of madness (once a sister ran naked down the hall) but I have tasted the water and it is clear and fresh, there is nothing unpleasant about it. … [ READ THE FULL POEM ]