At first glance, “we are to God as a wave is to the sea” seems to dismiss us, as nothing more than a small blob of water in a vast ocean, of no importance at all.
But wait! Even that small blob of water is an integral part of the entire web of the ocean, the entire movement of tides and the pulling of the moon. One wave. And we are to God as that one wave is to the ocean – the not whole ocean, but part of the ocean, its movement, its life, its essential nature. This poem is a reflection on those thoughts, and it’s printed here in its entirety.
Waves
“We are to God as a wave is to the sea”
–“A Prayer Book” John McQuiston II
We are to God as a wave is to the sea:
gentle swells on a vast grey ocean
sparkling blue under bright clear skies
crashed powerfully against the rocks,
near tidal pools and inlets were once we saw the shark-ravaged headless seal.
We are to God as a wave is to the sea:
emerging from the depths
teeming with life and power.
Part of the vast expanse that cradles life
Expression of a greater movement, but not the whole of it.
And when dissipated, pulled back into the water
or evaporated into the air to condense or rain in its season
or soaked into the sand
Still part of the whole.
We are to God as a wave is to the sea.
Nothing more. Nothing less.