coins of gold

A spendthrift lover is the Lord

Who never counts the cost

Or asks if heaven can afford

To woo a world that's lost. 

Our lover tosses coins of gold

Across the midnight skies

And stokes the sun against the cold

To warm us when we rise.

Still more is spent in blood and tears

To win the human heart,

To overcome the violent fears

That drive the world apart.

Behold the bruised and thorn-crowned face

Of one who bears our scars

And empties out the wealth and grace

That's hinted by the stars.

How shall we love this heart-strong God

Who gives us everything,

Whose ways to us are strange and odd,

What can we give or bring?

Acceptance of the matchless gift

Is gift enough to give.

The very act will shake and shift

The way we love and live.

- from Magnificat, November 2016