in trouble
in peace
in pain
in health
in the noise
in silence
in doubt
in faith
Father,
help me
your child.
7.28.2013
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.
6.30.2013
Independence Day Manifesto
The stakes are too great-
an America gone mad with materialism,
a police-state America,
a sexless and soulless America
prepared to battle the world
in defense of a false image of its authority.
Not the wild and beautiful America
of the comrades of Walt Whitman,
not the historic America
of William Blake and Henry David Thoreau
where the spiritual independence of each individual was an America,
a universe,
more huge and awesome than
all the abstract bureaucracies and authoritative officialdoms
of the world combined.
Only those who have entered the world of spirit
know what a vast laugh there is
in the illusory appearance of worldly authority.
And all men at one time or other enter that Spirit,
whether in life or death.
How many hypocrites are there in America?
How many trembling lambs, fearful of discovery?
What authority have we set up over ourselves,
that we are not as we are?
Who shall prohibit an art from being published to the world?
What conspirators have power to determine our mode of consciousness,
our sexual enjoyments, our different labors and our loves?
What fiends determine our wars?
When will we discover an America
that will not deny its own God?
Who takes up
arms, money, police, and a million hands
to murder the consciousness of God?
Who spits in the beautiful face of poetry
which sings of the glory of God
and weeps in the dust of the world?
Alan Ginsberg, 2000
an America gone mad with materialism,
a police-state America,
a sexless and soulless America
prepared to battle the world
in defense of a false image of its authority.
Not the wild and beautiful America
of the comrades of Walt Whitman,
not the historic America
of William Blake and Henry David Thoreau
where the spiritual independence of each individual was an America,
a universe,
more huge and awesome than
all the abstract bureaucracies and authoritative officialdoms
of the world combined.
Only those who have entered the world of spirit
know what a vast laugh there is
in the illusory appearance of worldly authority.
And all men at one time or other enter that Spirit,
whether in life or death.
How many hypocrites are there in America?
How many trembling lambs, fearful of discovery?
What authority have we set up over ourselves,
that we are not as we are?
Who shall prohibit an art from being published to the world?
What conspirators have power to determine our mode of consciousness,
our sexual enjoyments, our different labors and our loves?
What fiends determine our wars?
When will we discover an America
that will not deny its own God?
Who takes up
arms, money, police, and a million hands
to murder the consciousness of God?
Who spits in the beautiful face of poetry
which sings of the glory of God
and weeps in the dust of the world?
Alan Ginsberg, 2000
Amber Alert
Sometimes the Church
Sometimes the World
are like the Psalmist.
When some tragedy occurs
they ask the Other,
"Where were You?"
And when we discern
the response
is the same
as what
Mary and Joseph heard,
“I AM where I AM
supposed to be.”
So,
the quandary arises:
Do we
like Mary place
the answer in our hearts
or silently wonder
as Joseph:
“What is Your
Father’s business?”
6.23.2013
The Impossible Takes a Little Longer
We hear the words,
and wonder
if Jesus is
exaggerating
to make His point.
And afterwards
we browse
the bulletin board
of the world
and read of
a saint
who
makes us
wonder
if we have
any faith
at all.
(h/t Naked Pastor)
6.16.2013
The Other Guy
On the TV
Jesus said to Peter,
"I've come to bring you new life."
And Peter replied,
"Who says I need one?"
And we
who drag
our baggage
around
each day,
hear the gospel warning:
"forgiven little
loves little"
and think
He is talking
to someone else.
6.09.2013
867-5309
The President said,
“All we are doing
is making a log
of your
phone calls.”
And all of us
terrorists
breathed
a sigh
of relief.
We’re glad
our cover
hasn't been blown,
as we
gossip
about some poor soul.
Talk to our mistresses
and tell the beloved
you have to
work late tonight.
Get a hot stock tip
from your brother-in-law
at Goldmans.
Thank God
that
our freedoms
and privacy
are not being harmed.
While the
recording angels
scribble frantically
in the
Book of Life.
6.02.2013
Christian President
"I wish we had a Christian President,"
she said.
"Yes," I replied.
"Imagine weapons
turned into
ploughshares.
Our debts
cancelled
for a fresh start.
The blind
lame and
sick
won't worry
about
pre-existing conditions.
And a new beginning
of the last
becoming
first."
"No, no, no," she said.
"All I meant,
he would go to church every
Sunday."
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