My entry for the Worst Christian Book Cover 2013 contest

Genesis (Japan)

To see the other entries go here.

"Thy name"

(a meditation on each word(s) 

of the Lord's prayer)

Your Name

which signifies omnipresence

in a land that

stares into 

its self-absorbed screens.

Your Name

which signifies omnipotence

in a land that 

fights over 

scraps of power.

Your Name

which signifies omniscience

in a land that

hung Truth

on a cross.

The Bird With the Human Head

~ Anne Sexton

I went to the bird

with the human head,

and asked,

"Please Sir,

where is God?"

"God is too busy

to be here on earth,

His angels are like one thousand geese assembled

and always flapping.

But I can tell you where the well of God is."

"Is it on earth?"

I asked.

He replied,

"Yes. It was dragged down

from paradise by one of the geese."

I walked many days,

past witches that eat grandmothers knitting booties

as if they were collecting a debt.

Then, in the middle of the desert

I found the well,

it bubbled up and down like a litter of cats

and there was water,

and I drank,

and there was water,

and I drank.

Then the well spoke to me.

It said:  "Abundance is scooped from abundance,

yet abundance remains."

Then I knew.

Irish Folk Tale

Once there was a poor and generous old man from Ballaghaderreen who has a dream.  In it he is told to make a journey at the end of which he will find a pot of gold.  In this case the old man has to leave Balla and travel a good way to Dublin and there, when he crosses one of the bridges over the River Liffy, he will find a pub, and there he will find his treasure.  

The old man follows the dream map and when he sees the pub that was in his dream he looks around but there's no place he can dig for a hidden treasure, so he stands beside the door and waits.  He waits all day and at nightfall the publican comes out and asks,
"What are you standing here for all day long?"

"I had a dream that told me to come here."

"A dream?  I think you must be a daft old man to follow dreams.  I, myself, had a dream a month ago and it told me to go to some poor old sod's cottage on the crossroads from French Park to Ballaghaderreen and if I did, I would find a pot of gold in his front yard.  Do you think I would go traipsing all over the countryside because of a dream?  It's cold.  You should go home."

"Indeed I should and will," said the old man.

And when he got home he dug in his front yard and found the treasure and wasn't he himself and all the others the better for it.  

And if he hasn't given it all away we might share a bit with them.

The Radical Priest on Luke 18:1-8

(Parable of the Persistent Widow)

Now most of 
my brethren
will preach
that the lesson of
the text is
to be persistent in prayer.
To pray unceasingly 
as St. Paul puts it.

However,
the problem I
have with this
message is
by extension
the unjust judge
is God.

Whom we
can badger
anything out of
Him 
if we are  
relentless in
our petitions.

Allow me
to turn the tables
on this parable.

God is the
widow.

Constantly 
pleading 
to the point of 
being pushy
to get us
to see His way
is the best way.

And I can see
by the look in
some of your eyes
you sense
the implications
of this.

WE ARE THE UNJUST JUDGE!

Do we
don't care
what God thinks?

Do we 
ignore
what God is pleading with
us about?

Do we worry
about 
God upsetting 
our apple cart
or worse?

(Aside: I never before noticed 
in the  text
that judge was afraid
of physical harm 
by his continual
rejecting of her claims.)

So the 
message I have for 
you this
Sabbath 
is this:
Yes,
be faithful in prayer.
Pray in the Spirit.
Pray in love and truth
and unceasingly.

But also
listen to
and contemplate
on the Father's
continual
prayers for you.

Buddha on Matthew 6:25-34

An old farmer went to the Buddha 

seeking help for his problems. 

First, he had professional problems. 

In his part of the world, 

farming was extremely difficult 

and his work completely vulnerable to weather. 

Even though he loved his wife, 

there were certain things 

about her he wanted to change. 

Similarly, he loved his children, 

but they weren’t evolving 

the way he had hoped and anticipated. 

Listening carefully

as the man explained his frustrations with life, 

the Buddha responded, 

“I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.”

“What do you mean?” 

questioned the farmer. 

“You’re a highly regarded great teacher 

who has insight into all of life’s problems.”

“All human beings have eighty-three problems,” 

the Buddha explained. 

“A few problems may go away, 

but soon enough others will arise. 

So we’ll always have eighty-three problems.”

The farmer, both indignant and frustrated, asked, 

“So what good is all of your teaching?”

To which the Buddha replied, 

“My teaching can’t help with the eighty-three problems, 

but perhaps it can help with the eighty-fourth problem.”

“What’s that?” the farmer asked with great curiosity.

“The eighty-fourth problem is that 

we don’t want to have any problems.”

“Hallowed be”

(a meditation on each word(s) 
of the Lord's prayer)

I

"Honor Me with their lips"

Lord,

when I'm in a

church 

that is in 

more awe 

of the preacher

than You,

I believe 

I hear them

pray:

“...hollowed be thy Name”

II

The Beauty of His Holiness

You are 

holy.

Compassionate before a person sins,

Compassionate after a person has sinned,

and

mighty in compassion 

to give all creatures according to their need.

Merciful, that humankind may not be distressed;

Gracious if humankind is already in distress.

You are

slow to anger;

plenteous in mercy;

speaking in truth;

keeping mercy unto thousands;

forgiving

iniquity;

transgression;

and sin;

and pardoning

because

You are 

holy.

Adapted from Shelosh-'Esreh Middot

"in Heaven"

(a meditation on each word(s) of the Lord's prayer)

Your eternal address.

You

once sublet

the place

to that

nice couple

You created.

Unfortunately,

 You had to 

evict them

because they

broke

the 

Lease.

And for 

a long time

you let 

the place go vacant.

Then

You decided

to 

advertise

Kingdom Properties.

First

the prophets.

Then

Your Son.

Telling

all who 

would listen

about

the new terms

of the Lease. 1

And revealing to people 

the new name of the estate --

Graceland.

Note 1  - John 1:17

"Who Art"

(a meditation on each word(s) of the Lord's prayer)

I

A Mystery.

All

of the modern 

versions of

the Book

have dropped 

this line,

so why

do we pray

as if 

Jesus

proclaimed

the Good News

in 

Old English? 

II

Jehovah-Shammah

"You are"

Jesus insists.

No ancestor 

worship

of

Abraham,

Isaac,

and Jacob.

You 

are

the God

of the living.

You are 

Presence.

Jehovah-Shammah

Benediction

Rabindranath Tagore

Bless this little heart, 

this white soul that has won the kiss of

heaven for our earth.

He loves the light of the sun, 

he loves the sight of his

mother's face.

He has not learned to despise the dust, 

and to hanker after gold.

Clasp him to your heart and bless him.

He has come into this land of an hundred cross-roads.

I know not how he chose you from the crowd, came to your door,

and grasped your hand to ask his way.

He will follow you, laughing while talking, 

and not a doubt in his heart.

Keep his trust, lead him straight and bless him.

Lay your hand on his head, and pray that though the waves

underneath grow threatening, yet the breath from above may come 

and fill his sails and waft him to the heaven of peace.

Forget him not in your hurry, 

let him come to your heart and

bless him. 

Our

(meditation on each word(s) of the Lord's prayer)

You made us.

I can understand

why You call us 

Yours.

But it’s only through

Your gift of 

grace

that we can begin

in prayer with 

“Our”

Father

(meditation on each word(s) of the Lord's prayer)

You love us

unconditionally.

You desire 

relationship.

Yet,

You allow us to wander

away.

No Amber alert.

No pictures on a milk carton.

Just

the confidence

that Your children will

 repent their sins

and understand

there is no place like Home.

Meal Blessing

(From a prayer book)

Blessed are you, Father

who gives us

our daily bread.

Blessed is your only begotten Son,

who continually feeds us

with the word of life.

Blessed is the Holy Spirit,

who brings us together

at this table of love.

Blessed be God

now and forever.

Amen.