Ash Wednesday (2014)

Gen 3:19 ; Gen:4:10-16

Sinners 

approach the altar

to accept the dirt cross

and hear the words

said to the first couple.

After this holy event,

we leave the temple

with Cain's mark of 

protection.

But unlike Adam's progeny,

who wandered

east of Eden,

we place our trust

in the One

who tells us

He knows

the way

home.

Messiah

A young fugitive who comes to a town where the people are willing to take him in and hide him. When soldiers arrive in search of the fugitive, the townspeople protest that they know nothing. Suspecting their lie, the soldiers warn that, unless the fugitive is turned over by morning, the entire town will be destroyed.

In deep fear the people rush to their pastor for counsel. The priest, greatly troubled, starts searching scripture for an answer. All night he reads and finds nothing. Then, just before dawn, his eyes fall on a passage, 'It is better that one man should die for the people than the whole people be lost.'

He is sure that's the answer, and goes to the people with the news. The soldiers are informed that the fugitive is indeed hidden among them, and the young man is taken away. They throw a big party in the town, lasting far into the night, and celebrate their deliverance by the grace of God.

But the pastor returns to his study, still troubled. An angel appears to him and asks what's the problem. 'I still don't feel right about turning over the fugitive,' the pastor says. The angel replies, 'Did you know that he was the Messiah?'

The pastor is incredulous. 'How was I to know?' he asks. 'If, instead of reading your Bible,' the angel replies, 'you had taken time to visit the young man and looking into his eyes, you would have known he was the Messiah.'

Silent God

This is my prayer—

That, though I may not see,

I be aware

Of the Silent God

Who stands by me.

That, though I may not feel,

I be aware

Of the Mighty Love

Which doggedly follows me.

That, though I may not respond,

I be aware

That God—my Silent, Mighty God,

Waits each day.

Quietly, hopefully, persistently.

Waits each day and through each night

For me.

For me—alone.

Edwina Gateley

Falling off the Charts

CHART

From 

age one to 

middle age 44,

homicide is among

the top five ways 

to die

in America.

Then after the mature age of 45,

killing is not even in the 

top 10.

I wonder -

did we learn to love

our neighbor

or

did we crush

all our enemies?

Number One with a Bullet

CHART

Accidents do happen.

Leading cause of death 

from ages one

to forty-four.

Then from forty-five

to sixty-four 

cancer leads the way.

Or as the researchers call it

Malignant Neoplasms. 

And then for the remaining years,

poor maintenance

and regrets

causes the heart to break.  

The Archangel Gabriel

Leo Tolstoy

Once upon a time, the archangel Gabriel heard the voice of God speaking from Paradise, blessing someone.
Gabriel said, "Surely this is some important servant of my Lord, God the Father. He must be a great saint, a hermit or wise man." 

The archangel went down to earth looking for the man, but he could not find him, neither on earth nor in heaven. Then he addressed God and said, "Oh Lord, my God, please show me how to find the object of your love."

God answered him, "Go this village. And there, in a little temple, you will see a fire."

The angel went down to the temple, and he found a man praying before an idol. Then Gabriel went back to God and said, "Lord, how can you look with love upon this idol worshipper?"


God said, "It is true that he does not understand me properly. Not one man living is capable of understanding me as I am. The wisest of the whole human race are just as far from really understanding me as this man is. I look not at his mind, but at his heart. The heart of this man searches for me, and therefore he is close to me.

Someone Got Told

Mark 7:24-30

I wonder if 

after the mother's retort

to Jesus,

the teenaged Mark said

 the Aramaic equivalent of:

“Oh snap, Jesus!”

before witnessing

a God who could 

change His mind.

"Unsuffer Me"

Unlock my love

And set me free

Come fill me up

With ecstasy

Surround my heartbeat

With your fingertips

Unbound my feet

Untie my wrists

Come in to my world

Of loneliness

And wickedness

And bitterness

Unlock my love

Unsuffer me

Take away the pain

Unbruise, unbloody

Wash away the stain

Anoint my head

With your sweet kiss

My joy is dead

I long for bliss

I long for knowledge

Whisper in my ear

Undo my logic, undo my fear

Unsuffer me

Lucinda Williams

The Greatest Goal Ever -6/22/86

Maradona has the ball, 
two mark him, 
he touches the ball. 

The genius of world football 
dashes to the right 
and leaves the third 
and is going to pass to Burruchaga. 
It’s still Maradona! 

Genius! Genius! Genius! 
Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta. 
Gooooooooooal! Gooooooooooal! 

I want to cry! Dear God! 
Long live football! 
Gooooooooooal! Diegoal! Maradona! 

It’s enough to make you cry, 
forgive me. 
Maradona, in an unforgettable run, 
in the play of all time. 

Cosmic kite! What planet are you from? 
Leaving in your wake so many Englishmen, 
so that the whole country is a clenched fist 
shouting for Argentina? 

Argentina 2, England 0. 
Diegoal, Diegoal, Diego Armando Maradona. 

Thank you, God, 
for football, 
for Maradona, 
for these tears, 
for this, 
Argentina 2, England 0.

VICTOR HUGO MORALES’S RADIO ARGENTINA COMMENTARY

Video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiYYSradplU

City of Blinding Lights

Mt 5:14-16

The town on the hill

was blessed with a 

great light.

The poor

the lame

the weak

from the 

surrounding villages

saw the light

but could not go up

the hill

to experience the light.

They shouted up to

the town

to bring the light 

down the hill 

and to their villages.

But the town said, 

"No. There are too many technical issues.

Will the darkness swallow up the light?

Will we lose some (or all!) of the light

if we give it away?

What can you give us in

exchange for the light?

We will have to examine this

in much further detail

before we do anything."

The Accused

Just as he locked the door, as he pocketed the key,
as he glanced over his shoulder, they arrested him.
They tortured him until they tired of it.
‘Look,’ they said,
‘the key is your key, the house is your house,
we accept that now; but why did you put the key
in your pocket as if to hide it from us?’

They let him go, but his name is still on a list.

Yannis Ritsos
translated from the Greek by David Harsent

Thanks, Mr. Sun

I’m thankful the sun starts slow
and glides in a graceful burning
arc across the firmament. I don’t
think I could handle life if ole’ Sol
was a herky-jerky-shakey-jake.
Mr. Sun stays in his own lane,
daily commuting with polite constancy,
never nervous about missing
something like a primo parking spot.
For a fireball it seems to have it all
together, unshyly shining golden on
this blue-born world’s flappable.

John Blase

Aftermath

I think the Rapture is bunk.

But

 imagine an aftermath

of:

Insurance companies getting religion

and declaring the Rapture

an Act of God

as they stiff their policy-holders.

Consider a sight of

 several hundred million children 

gone off to the Kingdom.

Elementary school teachers 

 to teach the ones 

that were left behind.

The one per-centers

texting: WTF

Where did the help go?

The pastor who

didn't get caught up in the clouds

wondering if

 he would have a flock to tend?

Bullies will miss their patsies.

Patrons will remember their bartenders.

High school kids will revere the cheerleader.

And gossips will ask, 

"Why her? /Why him?"

And all the while,

me and you 

will go through

the departed's

fridges and garages

prepping ourselves for

the Final Days.