This litany was originally posted on Godspace. I wrote it for their very timely Lenten series on Breaking Down Walls. May it inspire you to embrace wall-breaking as a spiritual practice.

As always, if my work resonates with you I invite you to become part of my Patreon, and to pick up a copy of my book of litanies.

God, for centuries we have imagined that between us and you
Were distance and difference,
Silence and judgement,
And ultimately, walls.

But now we’re learning that wall-building
Is a uniquely human response
To fear,
To pain,
To vulnerability,
To a feeling of separation.

If we can forget the idea of separation,
Perhaps we can stop building walls on its behalf.
Oh God, may we let love have free reign
To build something more imaginative than walls.

See, we think our separateness is a given,
But you are constantly urging us toward a different perspective:
That nothing can separate us from you
Nothing created, nothing imagined, nothing contrived -
That you are, always and forever, for better and for worse,
In every circumstance, in every situation
Together with us.
You are God-With-Us.

And that togetherness, that persistence,
That in-it-for-the-long-haul relentless with-ness,
Is part of your personality, a characteristic of you;
Part of your everlasting love,
That is always building new spaces
And breaking down walls.

Amen