7.28.2013

help me.....



in trouble
in peace

in pain
in health

in the noise
in silence

in doubt
in faith

Father, 
help me
your child. 

Jerusalem


Yehuda Amichai (1959)

On a roof in the Old City
Laundry hanging in the late afternoon sunlight:
The white sheet of a woman who is my enemy,
The towel of a man who is my enemy,
To wipe off the sweat of his brow

In the sky of the Old City
A kite.
At the other end of the string,
A child
I can’t see
because of the wall.

We have put up many flags
They have put up many flags
To make us think that they’re happy
To make them think that we’re happy.

An Arab Shepherd

Yehuda Amichai (1980)

An Arab shepherd is searching for his goat on Mount Zion
And on the opposite mountain I am searching.
For my little boy
An Arab shepherd and a Jewish father
Both in their temporary failure…

Afterwards we found them among the bushes
And our voices came back inside us, laughing and crying
Searching for a goat or a son
Has always been the beginning
of a new religion in these mountains.

7.21.2013

Love Covers a Multitude of Sins


Soren Kierkegaard

The scribes and Pharisees
soon discovered her guilt,
which was indeed easy
since her sin was open.

They also discovered
a new sin,
one of which 
they made themselves guilty,
when they artfully laid snares 
for the Lord.

But Jesus bowed down
and wrote with His finger
upon the ground.

Why,
did He bow down?
I wonder.

Why, 
did he write  
with His finger
upon the ground?
I wonder.

Did He sit there
like a judge
who listens attentively
to the story of the accusers
and then
jots down the principal points
so he may not forget them,
and may judge strictly.

Was the woman's guilt 
the only thing 
noted by the Lord?

Or
did He write it down
in order to erase it
and forget it?

There stood the sinner,
surrounded perhaps by
those more guilty,
who loudly accused her.

But Love bowed down
and did not hear 
the accusation,
which passed over His head
into the air.

He wrote with His finger
in order to blot out
what He himself knew.

For sin discovers 
a multitude of sins
but love covers
the multitude of sins.

For by one word
from the Master
the Pharisees and the scribes
were struck dumb.

There was no longer 
an accuser.
No one who condemned her.

But Jesus said to her,
"Neither do I condemn you,
go and sin no more."

For the punishment of sins
breeds new sins
but love covers
a multitude of sins.

7.14.2013

The Greatest Question


In the Synoptics,
the faithful ask
Jesus:
"What are the greatest commands
God has given?"

And in a rare instance,
He responds with a direct answer:
"Love God with all your being
and love neighbor as yourself."

In Matthew, 
He concludes by saying:
"The Law and 
the words of the Prophets
all hang on this."

In Mark,
the questioner
whole-heartedly
agrees with Him
and Jesus states
he is not far
from the Kingdom of God.

In Luke,
the lawyer
follows up
with a question about 
the meaning of neighbor.
Jesus responds with
a story we all know.

But in John,
after the Cross
and
after the Tomb,
the tables are turned.

It is Christ asking 
the question repeatedly.
Calling you by name 
and asking
the greatest question:
"Do you love Me?"

7.07.2013

God goes subprime


I always thought Church of the Morally Bankrupt God
would be a great name for a payday loan shop.

Rule Number One

I

God waited for Abraham
to finish with
his pleading for Sodom.

And as He heard
his repeated requests,
He wished mortals
knew the 
number one rule of the gods:
A god got to do
what a god got to do.

II
God waited for the scribes
and other disciples
to finish with
their excuses.

And as He heard
their explanations,
He wished mortals
knew the 
number one rule of the gods:
A god got to do
what a god got to do.