An Advent Sunday

We sang
In the bleak midwinter,
a stable place sufficed
We turned the pages
in the  hymnal
Call upon his name,
declare His doings among the people
A few read poetry
and we sang more hymns
My soul gives glory to my God
My heart pours out its praise
A congregant stood
behind the pulpit
and read scripture
in a clear voice
Behind her a simple cross
hung from the vaulted ceiling
Then a silence
while we waited for the
next reader
We watched the empty
speaker's stand
Then his wife called
his name
to remind him of his turn
and he moved from his seat
behind the lectern
He moved as if he
didn't know what was expected
but when he read
We lay our lives before you
his voice held strong
and the poet's words resonated
But then when the words ended
he lost his way
as if his reading was an interlude
between his confusion
We sang of God's love
We watched love enacted