Mark 5:39, 41

When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!”

Little girl, get up.

O, how I long to hear

those words, Lord,

not so much for a resurrection

of the body,

but for a resurrection

of the soul.

Little girl, get up.

Lord, our world is so weary

now, so bent and broken,

weighed down with fear,

our spirits crushed,

because we have forgotten

what it means to hope.

Little girl, get up.

Lord, take our hands,

pull us to our feet,

bring us out of the darkness

that has settled on our shoulders

and seeped into our hearts

with false promises,

a darkness that speaks and says

we can only trust ourselves.

Little girl, get up.

We are on our knees, Lord,

not in rebellion or defiance,

but in prayerful supplication.

These are our last words.

This is the last gasp

of a wounded people.

Save us, Lord.

We are ready to rise.

Amen.