Bleary-eyed (a prayer for pastors)

For bleary-eyed preachers
Clock-lagged, exhausted,
And those wondering if
This church will see another Lent,
And those eager for the view
From the next pulpit,
And those just getting started,
Clear-eyed and expectant,
In your mercy Lord,
Hear our prayer.

For the weary-souled pastors
Grieving dear ones who have died,
And those missing church folk
Who have moved or moved on,
And for those with a long list
Of things that must be done today,
And for those who woke already
Pondering the holy nap,
In your mercy Lord,
Hear our prayer.

For the journeywoman preacher
Leaning on a sustainable sermon,
And the recently ordained with
More to say than time allows,
And the bivocational pastor,
Notes scribbled between clients,
For the brilliant homileticians
To whom it comes so easily –
Yea, verily, even for them –
In your mercy Lord,
Hear our prayer.