Isaiah 61:1a, 2b-3a
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me…to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes…”

Mark 1:40-41
“A man with leprosy came to [Jesus] and begged him on his knees, ‘If you are willing, you can make me clean.’  Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.  ‘I am willing,’ he said.  ‘Be clean!’”

Song of Songs 2:1
“(Beloved)  I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.”

Lover of the unloved, your compassionate eye sees unlikely beauty in us.

Though in the sight of the world our disfigurements bring us rejection, you come close to us and touch us, and call us exquisite.

Take our shame and bestow a loveliness upon us that speaks only of your transforming hand.  Look upon our despised faces and name us beloved, so that we become radiant with the strength of your love.

Through Jesus we ask this, who understands the marred and rejected, and out the ashes of his death we claim our adorning crowns.

Listen to ‘My Heart is Restless‘ by Wen Reagan