I confess uncertainty, O God,
in coming to you with this ancient prayer
of Mary’s, scattering the proud.

I look upon this world and see
a glaring need for scattering the proud.
Perhaps a table turned or two.

Yes, scatter all the proud, O God,
as Mary saw, unless: one of
the proud you’d scatter would be me.

A poem/prayer based on Luke 1:45b-55, the Revised Common Lectionary Psalm reading for Year C, Advent 4.

The image is “Saint Jean Baptiste prêchant devant Hérode Antipas” by Pieter de Grebber.