So I know it’s just a hypothetical,
this woman widowed seven times,
a cynical construction built
for theological confounding, still…

Were I the seventh brother, I
would be reluctant to be wed
unto this agent of ill fortune,
no matter what her charms and grace.

And I’d be right.

A poem based on Luke 20:27-38, the Revised Common Lectionary Gospel reading for Year C, Proper 27. Though technically not a prayer, I’ve tagged it as a lectionprayer anyway.

The image is Christ and the Samaritan Woman by Jacek Malczewski (1912) – Own work, photo by Lestat (Jan Mehlich), 2007-05-25, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2187398.