Beyond the beauty and the awe, beyond the fear and dread, we long, O God, to hear your word, to taste your transformed bread. Our lives feel torn between the world whose needs are grimly real and empty talk of peace and joy with distant, vague appeal. Oh, teach us how to hear your voice despite the traffic's din; to keep the blasts of rancor out and let your Spirit in. In sound or silence, sight or smell, may we some token find that makes your living presence known to body, soul, and mind. Then help us live as Jesus taught, as light and salt and yeast, that others may be brought to share your promise and your feast.