Presence

And he said to him,

“If your presence will not go,

do not carry us up from here.” Exodus 33:15

Don’t mess with us, God.

If you’re not going to stick around

then let us end it now.

Find another people

and we will find another god.

The golden calf may have been a crude

and cold surrogate deity,

unlikely to prove particularly effective

but it was shiny and it was ours.

Substitute or not, when we needed it

we knew where it could be found.

Promise us, God,

that you will go with us,

as, sore, weary and failing;

we take faltering steps,

and stumble uncertainly towards

our unknown destination.

Smoke, fire and wonders

have told of your undoubted power;

we have been impressed, but these

are not enough.

Only your presence,

your life-giving presence;

without your presence we fail.

© Ken Rookes