i am a little church

i am a little church (no great cathedral)
far from the splendor and squalor of hurrying cities
i do not worry if briefer days grow briefest,
i am not sorry when sun and rain make april

my life is the life of the reaper and the sower;
my prayers are prayers of earth’s own clumsily striving
(finding and losing and laughing and crying) children
whose any sadness or joy is my grief or my gladness

around me surges a miracle of unceasing
birth and glory and death and resurrection;
over my sleeping self float flaming symbols
of hope, and i wake to a perfect patience of mountains
i am a little church (far from the frantic
world with its rapture and anguish) at peace with nature
i do not worry if longer nights grow longest;
i am not sorry when silence becomes singing

winter by spring, i lift my diminutive spire to
merciful Him Whose only now is forever;
standing erect in the deathless truth of His presence
(welcoming humbly His light and proudly His darkness)

e.e cummings 1958

Thoughts on a Unitarian God

Is it good to be a lonely God?

No one who can create with Him.

No one who understands Him.

No one who can be intimate with Him.

Some days would He shout:

"Eli Eli lama sabachthani?"

Two Celtic Christian Trinity Poems

O Father who sought me,
O Son who bought me,
O Holy Spirit who taught me.


Above a Triscilion

Three folds of the cloth,
yet only one napkin is there,
Three joints in the finger,
but still only one finger fair,
Three leaves of the shamrock,
yet no more than one shamrock to wear,
Frost, snow-flakes and ice,
all in water their origin share,
Three Persons in God;
to one God alone we make prayer.

Triscilion--a figure composed of three usually curved or bent branches radiating from a center

In my deal with God

21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
(2 Corinthians 1:21-24 NIV)

16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
(1 Corinthians 3:16-17 NIV)

(If Donald Trump was saved)

In my deal with God
I went from the landlord of me
to a tenant of the Almighty.

In my deal with God
my real estate was rezoned
from commercial to worship.

In my deal with God
my security was now
provided by Him.

In my deal with God
He had to evict some of
my former tenants.

In my deal with God
my mentors were not books or teachers
but the Holy Spirit.

In the deal with God
my rent was that my entire heart, mind,
soul and strength
now belongs to Him.

In my deal with God
He said if I break this arrangement
There would literally be
Hell to pay.

Lean on Me (Holy Spirit)

Rested on Bezalel so he could furnish the Temple.
Rested on Samson so he could kill a lion with his bare hands.
Rested on and then departed from Saul.
Rested on and then refused to go away from David.
Rested on Isaiah’s promised Messiah.
Rested on the previously dry bones in the desert.
Rested on the chosen virgin.
Rested on the baptized Jesus.
Rested on the Gospel writers.
Rested on Paul.
and
Today
The Spirit forever
Rests on us
so we may let go of the world
and live in the grace
of the Trinity.

Amen.

Faith (is love in action)

To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance,
and that you are now doing more than you did at first. (Revelation 18a,19)

I believe
therefore I will do
what the Master asks.

What the Master asks
is sometimes beyond my ken
yet I must do it.

Yet it only appears beyond my ken
because the Master has prepared me for the task.
Therefore in faith I will trust Him.

The ways the Master has prepared me
are by actions I couldn’t imagine.
Therefore I will believe in what the Master has planned.

The actions I couldn’t imagine
become more and more evident as
I work on what the Master commands.

And the more and more
I abide in the Master’s desires
My faith translates into love in action.
Today on earth
and
Someday in Paradise.

Amen.

I confess

I confess
You are Lord
You alone are to be adored.

I confess
You are Lord
Through You alone I am restored.

I confess
You are Lord
You alone can make my spirit soar.

I confess
You are Lord
You alone can not be ignored.

I confess
You are Lord
You alone can defeat the sword.

I confess
You are Lord
You alone can grant the eternal reward.

You are Lord
This I know
Help me change my status quo.

I won't look back anymore
I left the people that do
It’s not the chase that I love
It’s me following you. **The Avett Brothers

Salvation Questions

If I am redeemed,
why don’t I follow my dreams?

If I am converted,
why do my goals get perverted?

If I am an adopted son,
why do I act like a lost orphan?

If I am born again,
do I really want to go against the grain?

If I am saved,
why I am so concerned about the grave?

If I am committed,
why do I feel I won’t be acquitted?

Is the definition of Salvation
to invite God to vacation in your soul?
It sounds like a recipe for disaster.
Imagine the servant being driven around by the Master!

Amen.

Atonement

Come home prodigal.
Come home sinner.
Come home for dinner.

Come home brother and sister.
Come home those who are heart sick.
Come home quick.

Refrain:Oh, I am lonesome for my precious children.
They live so far away.
Oh, may they hear my calling, calling
And come back home some day...

Come home to the Father.
Come home all who are lost.
Come home by the way of the cross.

Come home where love lives.
Come home those in pain.
Come home and out of the rain.

Refrain:Oh, I am lonesome for my precious children.
They live so far away.
Oh, may they hear my calling, calling
And come back home some day...

Refrain - Calling My Children Home (Trad.)

Putting new wine in old wineskins

Inside I am like bottled-up wine,
like new wineskins ready to burst. (Job 32:19 (NIV))

Joseph thought
what anguish this voice had brought.
Put the Law of Moses aside
and make Mary my bride.
“Oh Lord, forgive my doubt.
How is this going to turn out?”

Nicodemus thought
what anguish Jesus’ answer brought.
Put the Law of Moses aside
and let the new be born and the old denied
“Oh Lord, how can this be?
I thought only through the Law are we free.”

Peter thought
what anguish His Lord’s statement brought.
Putting Israel’s expectations aside
saying the Messiah will have to suffer and die.
“Oh Lord, You’re describing a pariah
not Israel’s Messiah.”

Thomas thought
what anguish their statements brought.
Putting all known science aside
saying that He is alive.
“Oh Lord, if this is true,
what is the world going to do?”

For the Sake of its Kingdom

Grace
is a gift
that causes a shift
of what the world requires
and what God desires.

The world uses sex for the sake of its kingdom.
Grace works in love for the sake of its kingdom.

The world exercises its power for the sake of its kingdom.
Grace humbly submits for the sake of its kingdom.

The world seeks peace for the sake of its kingdom.
Grace has the peace the world wants for the sake of its kingdom.

The world requires the books to be balanced and kept for the sake of its kingdom.
Grace takes pity and cancels the debt for the sake of its kingdom.

The world separates the haves and have-nots for the sake of its kingdom.
Grace invites all to celebrate for the sake of its kingdom.

The world writes off the one that is lost for the sake of its kingdom.
Grace goes after the one that is lost for the sake of its kingdom.

The world constructs the wide road for the sake of its kingdom.
and looks with contempt at Grace’s narrow path.

Amen.

O god of fantasy

O god of fantasy,
who watches over the casualties
caused by your fallacies.

A religion …
Where the truth is less than a lie
and
hate can be justified.

A belief of…
What my beloved doesn’t know won’t open up a can of worms.
and
where sacrifice can be done completely on my terms.

And a world that will bless
your culture of excess
with the goal to impress
you,
the god of fantasy
but fails
in the eyes of the
God of Reality.

Amen.

The business of grace

He goes to the file cabinet,
pulls out the oft used form
and fills in
today’s date and your name
and asks you to sign it.

You read it
and it dawns on you
it’s the same contract
every time.

Not a renewal,
nor a modification of terms,
or anything odd.
It reads:
You Shall be My People, and I Will be Your God.

So you sign it
and
push the paper across the desk.
He hands it to the Witness
who seals it in His blood
and tells you,
“Go, and sin no more.”

Amen.

What Image Might We Find?

To whom, then, can we compare God?
What image might we find to resemble him? Isaiah 40:18 (NLT)

Outside
on a beautiful fall day,
children scream their lungs out,
the mature meditate on a park bench.
Lovers walk hand in hand,
new parents push the buggy.
Smell of food on the grill,
dogs obey their masters,
girls are texting and giggling.
And
theologians inside their rooms
wonder about
man’s potential to be godly.

Inside
on a dreary winter day,
children have cabin fever
the mature have lost their patience.
Lovers are in hand to hand combat,
new parents can’t take another Disney DVD.
Microwave popcorn burning,
dogs forget who’s the alpha male,
girls text and moan.
And
theologians go outside
and wonder about
man’s potential to be godly.

Amen.

God

Throughout the night, He wrestles Jacob,
As well as enters into Joseph’s dreams.

He comes in the storm in Job,
and a whisper with Elijah.

He is the architect for Noah and Solomon.
The building inspector at Babel
and houses built on sand.

He sets the prisoners free.
Embraces the wayward prodigal.
Accepts Judas’ kiss,
along with the strike to the other cheek.

He is the Light of the world
and the fire at Pentecost.

He arrives in a manger
in Bethlehem.
Departs as a sacrifice
at Calvary.
And will return as Host of the First Supper
in New Jerusalem.

He is what our parents warned us about:
“You can’t be everything to all people.”

Amen.

Providence

Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.
Psalm 127:1)


Wherever you are,
I AM with you.
(but I want you to be nearer.)

Whatever you do,
I AM with you.
(but I want you to be no one else’s disciple.)

The times when you are sinsick,
I AM with you.
(I want you to remember who you really are.)

When you accept My grace,
I AM with you.
(I want you to remember who I AM.)

I AM never through with you.
because
I AM who I AM.

Amen.

The Sixth Day

He stands on the approach.
The Light is on.
He is ready.
In His mind,
He sees it.
An unrushed four step approach
stopping right before the foul (fair?) line
releasing a smooth roll.

This game of His creation seems a bit too easy.
Sky- STRIKE!
Land - STRIKE!
Seas-STRIKE!
Vegetation - STRIKE!
Sun- STRIKE!
Moon- STRIKE!
Birds - STRIKE!
Fish- STRIKE!
Animals- STRIKE!

The angels said:
“You’re en fuego, Almighty One!
What’s next?”

God said
“Let us create one more.
Creatures in our own image.
We’ll teach them how to play this game.”

Afterwards,
He thought,
“Oh, what a great day!”
as He looked at the innocents.
He told them:
“Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life!
Tomorrow, it will be just Me and you for the day.”

The clueless ones nodded
and wondered
when dinner would be served.

Creation

Job 41:11 “I'm in charge of all this—
I run this universe!” (Message)

Man made candles.
God created light.

Man made refrigerators.
God created glaciers.

Man made clocks.
God created eternity.

Man wrote books.
God composed the best seller.

Man rations his love each day.
God loves like there’s no tomorrow.

Man repeatedly attempts to save his world.
God sighs,
because its already been done.

This serious book

This book
tells
the story
of God.

A God who
just wanted
His people
to acknowledge
who He is.

This book
tells
the story
of His people.

A people who repeatedly
remembered and forgot
to acknowledge
who their God is.

This book
tells
of those who remember
will have Life.

This book
tells
of those who forget
will have Death.

And this book
tells
of a God that is so serious
He had man write it all down
and then He signed it in His own blood.

Amen.

Revelation

Why, O LORD, do you stand far off ?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? (Psalm 10:1)

“Where are You, Lord?”
I cried out.

GOD replied,
“I AM in…..

The two ruined stone tablets
and
your brokenness.

The burning bush
and
your passion.

The Temple
and
your worship.

My feeding of the multitudes
and
your charity.

The empty tomb
and
your freedom.”

Then GOD laughed.
“Where am I?
Well, there will be one more way
you can see Me,
but for you
that time has not come.”

Creed

I believe
in a God
that created a world
to allow me to understand
what heaven and hell are like.

I believe
in a God
that sent His Son
to save me
from myself.

I believe
in a God
that sent His Spirit
to keep me
from being my old self.

I believe
in a God
that created a holy Church
in order that His
(and not my)
will be done.

I believe
in a God
that will judge the work
assigned to
all of His servants.

I believe
in a God
that will create a new world
where two languages are forever spoken -
Truth and Love.

Amen.

Jesus explains why your cross is small

Luke 9:23 "If anyone would come after me,
he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.

When you were alone,
I was with you 24/7/365.

When you were lonely,
I introduced you to other believers.

When you were weak,
I provided you with grace sufficient.

When you were still a sinner,
I still loved you.

When you were lost,
I walked you home.

When you tried to save the world,
I told you it’s already been done.

When you gave everything over to Me,
Your receipt is this little cross.

Satan says,
“It should be a lot bigger
for what you gave up.”

But he knows
(and you should too),
The main thing is not
your cross carrying
but to follow Me.

Meditation on John 14:5

John 14:5**Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

Where are You going?
Why can’t I go?
Because you don’t know who I am.
WHAT?!?!?!?
Because if you did,
I probably let you tag along.

The Scene

(Meditation on John 12:1-11; Luke 7:36-50)

Is this how love acts?
The fragrance meant for you alone,
Is poured out at the foot of the throne.

Is this how much love costs?
Busting open that jar
is so economically bizarre.

Is this how love behaves?
Letting down your hair
is causing everyone to stare.

Is this how love looks?
You forgot the washing bowl
So you use the water from your soul.

Is this when love turns into porn?
My stone heart says with scorn.
“Mary, I realize your brother is out of the tomb.
But, you and Jesus - Get a room!”