*Psalm 2018*

O Lord, O Lord!
We’ve lost Your image in us -
It stays hidden somewhere
In the abyss of our souls,
As we surrender ourselves
To the blinking glow
Of smartphones and iPads,
Hiding from Your sight,
Muting "Where art thou?"
Behind emoticons 
In the infinite line of code,
Where one-zero-one-zero-one-zero-ones
Hook us like easy bait,
As we joyfully escape
The beauty of Your life
Pressing the "enter"
Of that dopamine intake,
Seeking the instant pleasure
Of being numb to Your voice in us,
Hypnotized by our egos,
Blindly following the eye of the beast,

Shutting our own eyes,
As our brothers and sisters
Die in random shootings
While the triggers of lost souls
Continue the game of death.
O Lord, O Lord!
We chase away our consciousness,
Crunching chips in the comfort 
Of fun Netflix nights,
When the House of Cards is on,
As the innocent perish
In the mushrooms of bombs
Somewhere in the Middle East,
Of course, it's sad, 
We convince ourselves
In the morning rush, skimming 
Through the Huffington scroll,
Sipping our skimmed milk lattes,
Eager to move on to sports,

AI and blockchain, and what's next
For mankind, guessing what Zuckerberg said on it,
And when Elon would tweet again,

And how Kayne dared to wear the MAGA red,
And who will be ahead in the end.

Yet the echo of Your voice
Keeps ringing the bells of our souls,
Bringing a hint of grace,

Calling us to seek the joy
Of  Your warm embrace,
In the words of Your prayers.
O Lord, O Lord!
Give us the strength to repent,
Let us feel again the pain
Of a young homeless mother
Swaddling her child in the dirty blanket
In the chill of the night,
Wake us up from this deadly slumber,
Revive our hearts to hear the music
Of Your mercy in the eyes
Of a lonely beggar, 
Melt the ice in our souls

In the tears of his humble ask.
O Lord, O Lord, Restore Your image in us!

Andrey Gidaspov
October 19, 2018

Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Washington, DC
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