5.12.2013

MOTHER PICKING PRODUCE


Richard Blanco

She scratches the oranges then smells the peel,
presses an avocado just enough to judge its ripeness,
polishes the Macintoshes searching for bruises.

She selects with hands that have thickened, fingers
that have swollen with history around the white gold
of a wedding ring she now wears as a widow.

Unlike the archived photos of young, slender digits
captive around black and white orange blossoms,
her spotted hands now reaching into the colors.

I see all the folklore of her childhood, the fields,
the fruit she once picked from the very tree,
the wiry roots she pulled out of the very ground.

And now, among the collapsed boxes of yucca,
through crumbling pyramids of golden mangos,
she moves with the same instinct and skill.

This is how she survives death and her son,
on these humble duties that will never change,
on those habits of living which keep a life a life.

She holds up red grapes to ask me what I think,
and what I think is this, a new poem about her--
the grapes look like dusty rubies in her hands,

what I say is this: they look sweet, very sweet.

Eyes Wide Shut



How could he miss it?

The miracles.
The teachings.
The answers He gave.

How could he not recognize
who was in his midst?

As we drive by the homeless.
Criticize the poor.
Fill our prisons to excess.

5.05.2013

A Short Meditation on Giving



I understand
the motive
of keeping
the left hand
in the dark
of what the
right hand is doing.

All things done
for the glory of God
and all that good
Sunday School stuff.

But there is 
one more point
to be made 
of what happens
if silence is broken
on one's charity.

Half the assholes 
in the world 
will scream,
"Why did you give it to them?"

And the rest 
will whine
"Why didn't you give it to me?"

4.29.2013

Christian Zen


“All the way to heaven is heaven, 

because Jesus said, "I am the way.” 
 St. Catherine of Siena

4.28.2013

A Tough Crowd


Sometimes he thought,
I'm like an aging rock star,
where the fans don't want
to hear my latest songs.

"Just give us the hits,”
they scream.

As he approaches the assembly,
he decides
on what his Sabbath 
playlist is.

He begins,
striking a chord to
a faithful 
that learned by heart 
the Sunday School equation
of Easter
divided by Christmas
yields Life Eternal.

4.21.2013

Big Blind


I'm sure
there are
a lot of 
people
thinking:
"What were
those people
thinking?"

Placing 
schools,
old folks' homes,
houses
right next
to a plant.

Gambling 
with their lives.

Especially
when they
can't see the

This Week (Boston/Baghdad)


The Iraqi 
police sergeant
wished
he had the 
luck that
occurred
this week
in the Empire.

A brother
ran over
by his sibling
in a car theft.

The boy
later found 
in a boat
in a water town.

And as he looked
at his current 
he sighed
his request
“Bless those you
have received in 
Paradise.
And make me 
an instrument 
of your
Justice.”

4.14.2013

Bread of Life



The child asked,
"Why is the bread so dry?"

 I told her the ancient story
of a people who had 
to rush out of the
land of slavery.

They couldn't wait to 
for the baked bread
to rise.

So they prepared 
their bread
without yeast.

So when we 
eat the bread
we remember
the people
God rescued.

Then I told her
another story.
A tale of a lifetime ago.

When there was 
no SPF-50
no carcinomas
where the beach was
a place
where some got
the glow of a tan
and some suffered
the pain of sunburn.

And some of us
who endured the hurt
would strip the skin
and taste it.

Seasoned with
sand
and salted with 
the ocean
and sweat.

And when we
got home,
we bathe
and lie in our
beds  as still
as we could manage.

Every now and then
we would
spot a piece
of dead washed
flesh.

We placed it
our mouths
and  recall
the taste of
the wafer
on Sunday morning.

And the words
the priest said,
"This is My flesh.
Do this in remembrance of Me."

4.08.2013

Gasp


(When is the last time you said, "I love You."?)

Two pews behind me
I heard 
her gasp,
"My God, my God,
I love You!
My God,
I love You!"

And her prayer,
disturbed
the equilibrium of
my relationship
with the
Other.

A content,
comfortable 
bond
between us.

No passion.
Words not
spoken
but 
believed to be
understood.

O, 
unembarrassed
God 
with
arms wide open
on the cross
and
when we meet.

Embrace
my heart.
And may
my prayers always
begin:
"My God, my God,
I love You!
My God,
I love You!"

4.01.2013

Three Men on the Hill


(Good Friday)
(Matthew 27:38, Mark 15:27-28, Luke 23:33, John 19:18)

Three men went up the hill
to receive what
the Law 
had dealt them.

When they reached
the top,
the Law
applied their
 pain bombs
upon them.
Then
 left them
hanging
on their trees
to die.

And the one
on the
left
was like
any of us.

And when
 he stared at
the cross
next to him
and saw 
Truth,
he 
(like any of us)
 screamed,
"GET ME THE FUCK 
OFF THIS CROSS!"

But the one
on the
right
was a 
con-man.

And when
 he stared at
the cross
next to him
and saw 
Truth,
he
knew 
exactly
what it was.

The pure
200-proof
incorruptible
substance
he could not
fool or deceive.

So,
for the first time
in his life,
he spoke 
from his 
heart
and not his lips,
and said,
"Take me with You."

3.24.2013

Rock of Ages





O Lord!
If we could 
be your disciples!

We would struggle
against those
who want to
use us
in their cause of
justice.

We would praise You
as a brother -
the mistakenly, rejected 
cornerstone.

Use us.

Transform 
the rock
of Easter
into an 
altar in 
Your Kingdom. 


3.16.2013

Good Friday Meditation



Which is more
incredible?

That we
murdered 
God?

Or

He
dropped 
the charges
against us?

3.10.2013

No Experience Required



In His economy 
there are
always
these rehires.

And with Him
there 
is no
such thing as a
probation period.

Full pay
and
benefits
from
day one.

And we
who never left
the reservation,
understand
this principle.

Although
like the eldest son
we
silently long 
for a
closed shop.

3.04.2013

Reflection on the Beatitudes



Blessed are the poor in spirit.
    Lord, break my spirit.

Blessed are those who mourn.
    Lord, forgive my sins, 
that cause pain to You and others

Blessed are the meek.
    Lord, I need to take myself 
less seriously, 
and 
You more seriously.
  
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
    Lord, help me avoid the temptation of indifference.
  
Blessed are the merciful.
    Lord, may the grace you grant me, 
be shared with all.

Blessed are the pure in heart.
    Lord, mold me into a person of integrity. 

Blessed are the peacemakers.
    Lord, give me the wisdom to know Your way.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.
    Lord, give me courage when I am afraid. 

2.24.2013

It is often easier to fight for a principle than to live up to it (Wisdom 2)


12: "Let us lie in wait for the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for sins against the law, and accuses us of sins against our training. 13: He professes to have knowledge of God, and calls himself a child of the Lord. 14: He became to us a reproof of our thoughts; 15: the very sight of him is a burden to us, because his manner of life is unlike that of others, and his ways are strange. 16: We are considered by him as something base, and he avoids our ways as unclean; he calls the last end of the righteous happy, and boasts that God is his father. 17: Let us see if his words are true, and let us test what will happen at the end of his life; 18: for if the righteous man is God's son, he will help him, and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries. 19: Let us test him with insult and torture, that we may find out how gentle he is, and make trial of his forbearance. 20: Let us condemn him to a shameful death, for, according to what he says, he will be protected."  Book of Wisdom 2:12-20


How can I hear
this inconvenient Truth? 

Who says my way
is not the Way He taught?

Who says the those
who do not take
personal responsibility
will be experience His joy?

Who says He is 
the Messiah,
the Christ,
God’s Son?

There is only one solution: 
A public death.

We will test him
with pain and derision
and afterwards
clean up
by placing Him
in a tomb
that God only knows 
its location. 

2.17.2013

Meditation on Matthew 6:12


And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us. 
Anglican Book of Common Prayer, 1662

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Matthew 6:12 (KJV)

Forgive us our trespasses,
Sounds like we wandered
on someone's
property.
"Oh, my bad"


As we forgive them that trespass against us.
As we tell others
to get off our front lawn.

But we live in
a debt ridden
world.

A world of
In God we trust
all others pay cash.
A world of big winners
in their swimming pools
and losers
drowning in their underwater
mortgages.

Imagine in
corporate worship
asking
God
and
each other
to forget the debts
between us.

To be forgiven
with all the paperwork
not to be put back
in the filing cabinet.

Not to placed in a box
to be sent to Iron Mountain.

But
watching it all
being placed in
the shredder
of grace.

A free fresh start.

2.10.2013

His First Sermon


Luke 4:14-30

He just said
eight words
in his first sermon.

But like any
first time preacher,
He couldn't leave
well enough alone.

And instead of
being invited
to Sunday dinner,
He had to escape
the wrath of
His hometown
congregation.

2.03.2013

Ash Wednesday (2013)


Ashes made
from the
palms
of a
short-lived
victory march

Are now
recycled
to mark
the heads
of those
who
long
for the
King's
return.

1.31.2013

Apparition


An eighty degree
afternoon
in January
should not be wasted.
I thought

And at the beach,
amongst the
Euros
still on vacation
and the pasty
white Canadians
I see
a Brazilian couple
walking in the surf.

And stamped
on her
gym shaped
bicep
was a tat
of the Madonna

Not  a Virgin
at the stable
Madonna.

Not a Mary
standing above
the votive candles
Madonna

But
a Madonna
who had a
I can't stand this anymore
expression.

My trance was broken
by  French kids
coming back from a swim
but not waking their
parents from their nap.

And down the beach
went
the couple
babbling in
a language
only they
could know.

1.21.2013

Wedding Crashers


(Wedding at Cana)
“Here's to alcohol: the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.”
Homer Simpson

I wonder 
if Mary had to
drag Jesus
to this affair.

And to make
it more 
tolerable
for Him
add the disciples 
to the guest list.

As the wedding
went on,
He watched
from His table,
the honored couple,
the happy families,
His date
dancing with 
Peter and Andrew,
He hears 
Mary come up
behind Him
and whisper,
“They have no wine.”

And in His
selfishness
He tells her
“That‘s not my problem.”

But His divinity
 sees the bigger
picture.

So the first 
miracle is recorded.

No shame
to the wedding
couple.

No blame
assigned
to the
uninvited
disciples.

1.13.2013

Thanks for forgetting


Psalm 103:12 NIV

If God is
omniscient
but
does not
remember
our
confessed
sins,
is He
omniscient?

I
guess
He
would say,
“My child,
there are
things
not worth
remembering.”

1.08.2013

7089


Mugshot -7089

I
wonder
why
someone
had to
scrawl
his death date
on the mug shot.

Was he
thinking
like
Pilate and Caiaphas
that
life would
return back
to the way
it was?

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose


Matthew 1-2/Luke1-2

Christmas
is a
season
of losing and
discovering.

Zechariah
lost his voice
arguing
with an angel.

He regains
his voice
filled with
the Holy Spirit.

Elizabeth
lost her
shame
of childlessness.

Her joy
is multiplied
when
meeting Mary
(and Jesus)

Joseph
decides to
lose Mary
quietly.

But through
a dream
he lets
Love
come to town
(and the world)

The Magi were
lost
despite following
the star.

After hearing
the Prophets,
they rediscovered
the star
that lead them
to the King.


May this
new year
reveal
the lost gifts
in your life.

12.30.2012

Psalm 11 Meditation


1. How can You say,
“It’s closing time.”?


2. Are you aware of all
the stupid that’s going on?



3. Honor and life are disposable.
What has value anymore?

4. From your heavenly suite
You see
the externals and internals
of us all.

5. You consider all of us.
The plumb line on the righteous

For the evil ones,
You rummage in Your tool box.

6. You will wield your hammer
of justice.
Your breath on them
will be sweet
but sear their skin.

7. May we remember that
You will sort this all out
(despite our vain attempts
of correction)

It's not the way that you say it



Jesus asked, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
Luke 10:26
(Based on this video)


We asked a beautiful woman,
"If you could make a new law,
what would it be?"

She answered,
"I think that any laws
(there are in Constitution or in life,)
are already made.

I think that we should have,
a straight way to go
in our similar
or,
in our lives as is this.

For example, I'm a surfer,
and I think
that the best wave
that I can take
is the wave
that I wait for it.

So please do
our only law
that we can do.

Thank you Vegas!"

And Vegas
(and as well as ourselves)
wished
we could enter
her mind
of endless summer.

12.16.2012

Jesus Ruins Christmas!


David Wilcox 

Jesus ruins Christmas 
That's what the headlines said
"Jesus" in quotation marks
Cause then the man was dead

Jesus in the parking lot
talking to the poor
He gathered up a crowd of us
and he walked into that store

So Jesus stood in Bloomingdales
A rebel with a cause
He stepped up on the platform
Right next to Santa Claus

Jesus tore the wrappings
The presents on display
These boxes are all empty
They've always been that way

Now your eyes they can deceive you 
Let your soul look through this store
It's all shiny empty boxes
But I've come to bring you more

The presence that I offer is infinite joy
Free for the asking but you have to make your choice

Well, first came security
then came the police,
destroying private property,
disturbing the peace

They hauled him off in shackles
With billy clubs and guns
But when the cops saw the angry crowd
They said, "Let 'em have their fun"

They wrapped him up in ribbons
They dragged him through the mall
They lashed him to a Christmas tree
and they plugged it in the wall
With a strand of broken Christmas lights 
wrapped around his head

They had killed him off by Easter, but they could not keep him dead

Jesus Ruins Christmas, that's what the headlines said

Coming soon…


Every valley shall be raised up, 
every mountain and hill made low…
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed
Isaiah 40:4-5/Luke3:5-6


Revealed
in a manger
in parables
in the Bread
and the Cup.

In a prayer
on the cross
and
an empty tomb.


Not exactly
what we were
expecting
after hearing
this
Advent announcement
of
coming attractions.












12.08.2012

Getting Caught Up

“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with ...the anxieties of life,”
 Luke 21:34a

I was gonna ask
Jesus
a question.

And before
I knocked
on His door,
I picked
up
the
newspaper
from the
welcome mat.

Started reading
about the
stuck in their
austerity pit.

The rich
on their private
beaches
claiming

And while
I was reading
a story
about
the
I felt a
hand on my
shoulder.

“What do you want?”
He asked.

“Believe it or not,
I was gonna
ask You
the same question.”


Postscript

After reading the poem,
my fundamentalist friends
who have let
their
poetic licenses
expire
years ago,
ask me
the same question:
“Tell me,
why
would
an
omniscient
God
have the
newspaper
delivered?”

12.02.2012

To become a person


(Adapted from a prayer book)

To become a person
one must
affirm
and
deny
himself.

One
involves
the other.

If we cling to
self-assertion
that’s
inglorious madness.

If we insist on
pure self-sacrifice
that’s
glorious madness.

We must
embrace
and
surrender
in
equal measures
to discover
our
full
humanity.
**Rufus Jones - 20th century Quaker

Silly Little Xmas Poem


Luke 2:1-21

Come to my party
behind the holiday inn.

We’re gonna  have
angels
animals
and
kings.

Come to my party
behind the holiday inn.

My mom
will tell you
the amazing story.

Come to my party
behind the holiday inn.

RSVP by
asking for the
manger.

11.26.2012

What kind of actions of leaders do you think God blesses?





I suppose the answer is
an action
that serves
the common good
of all.

As the psalmist wrote:
“Blessed are those who act justly, who always do what is right.”


But can a God
who is uncompromising
in His love
of the world
and
His expectation
of His people
to return His love
with
all their being
bless
a political act
that requires a
dance of egos
agendas
and
the give and take of
compromise?

As the psalmist wrote,
“It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.”

O Lord,
on the mount
You told us
who were
to be blessed.
The meek.
Those seeking righteousness.
The pure of heart.
The peacemakers
and
the persecuted.

Help me
understand
the actions
of Your Kingdom.

11.11.2012

The Bramble King

 
Parable of the Trees






The trees hoped
they could be
ruled
with honor
by the olive tree.

Or
with the sweetness
of good times
by the fig tree.

Or
comforted
by
the strength of
the vine.

But to
the olive tree,
the fig tree,
and
the vine,
governing
the forest
was
beneath them.

It was
effortless
for them
to produce
what
the world wanted.

But to
deal with
their community
with its
petty squabbles,
their
problems,
and
divisive
politics,
they worried
it would
sap all
their strength.

 
 


 
So,
after being rejected by
the olive tree,
the fig tree,
and
the vine,
the trees of the forest asked
the bramble
“Why should you be our leader?”

“First,”
the bramble said,
“Unlike
the olive tree,
the fig tree
and
the vine,
I produce nothing.
I must rely on your support.

“Next,
unlike
the olive tree,
the fig tree
and
the vine,
whose roots grow deep and stubborn,
my roots are shallow.
You must allow me to
compromise
so we can survive.”

“And finally,
unlike
the olive tree,
the fig tree
and
the vine,
you can
live under
my thorns.”

“And if push comes to shove,
let my branches
become the
tinder
to start
the fires of war.”

So began the reign
of the Bramble King.





 

11.04.2012

Justice versus Mercy

2 Esdras 8:37-45 CEB
The angel said:
A farmer sows
many seeds
in the ground,
yet not all that
was sown
will take root
or be harvested.

So all that were
sown to the world
will not be saved.

Ezra replied:
If a seed does not come up
because of drought
or deluge
it perishes.

But Lord,
people are created by Your hands
and are made in Your image.

The question I ask is:
Have You made them
like the farmer’s seed?

Please, Lord!
Surely not!
Spare Your people!

Please have mercy
on Your own creation.

10.30.2012

James, John and Bartimaeus






They drew close to Jesus
to make their request.

He shouted at Jesus
to make his request.

They drew close to Jesus
so the others couldn’t hear.

He shouted at Jesus
and didn’t care about those
trying to silence him.

They addressed Him
as Teacher.

He called Him
Son of David.

They asked their question
in confidence that it would be answered.

He asked only
to have mercy on him.

And Jesus asked the same question
to each of them:
“What do you want me to do for you?”


They asked for glory.
He asked for his sight.

Jesus answered James and John,
“Even though you will follow Me
till the end,
Remember:
The greatest of you must be a slave.”

Jesus answered Bartimaeus,
(one of the least of the town)
“Through your faith
you will see.”

James and John endured
the others
giving them the business.

And the crowd
at Jericho
wondered
what kind of business
Jesus was in.



10.21.2012

“What do you want me to do for you?”




2 Samuel 21:1-14

I
What do you want me to do for you?”,
David asked the Gibeonites.
“Saul who has destroyed our people,
has left us homeless in the midst of famine.”

“So, what do you want me to do for you?”,
David asked again.

“Give us seven of Saul’s descendants.
We will kill them and leave their bodies
in the sight of Saul’s God.”

And David selected the men
and allowed them to be killed
and to be left hanging on a cross.

Rizpah
the mother of two of the men,
came up the hill.
Spread out a sackcloth for herself
and protected all the bodies
from the birds of the air
and the beasts of the land.

And while the festival of harvest
was going on below,
God saw what was happening
on the hill
and
answered the prayer of land
by opening a cloud
of His tears.
 
 
(continued)
 
 
 
II






“What do you want me to do for you?”,
Jesus answered their request.

“We want to be next to You
when You come in glory.”

“Can you follow the path
I AM going to take?”

“No problem.
So how about those seats in the suite?”

“You will follow Me
this is true.
However those places
have already been reserved.”
And before the rest
of the followers
could start speculating
on who would have
those great seats

The Master said,
“The weak that move against
the powerful
in their own small ways,
They will see the Kingdom of God.”

Learning How to Kneel

On my knees,
beads in hand
for the last six weeks
reciting the old prayers
of childhood.
Sometimes
remembering things
forgotten.
Recalling people
of the past.
And
meditating on the
mysteries
of Jesus
and my life.

This should be
boring as hell,
repetitively stating
my status as a sinner.
Asking the Father
for my forgiveness
as well as others.
Requesting Mary
fifty-three times
to intercede for us sinners.

Instead when finished
I sense
an unrecognizable boredom,
not because I’ve practiced it
many times before,
because I haven’t;
not because it’s old hat,
but because it’s still too new.


10.07.2012

Lot’s Daughters

Genesis 19:30-38(NIV)
 

If we could text,
We’re sure we would type:
WTF! WTF! WTF!

If any of our friends,
were still alive.

Mom’s dead.
Dad didn’t like the new town.
Instead we
headed for the hills.
and are living in a cave.

WTF! WTF! WTF!

And we’re wondering
about Dad’s uncle and aunt
Abram and Sarai.
It appears from here,
we three are the last of the tribe.

WTF! WTF! WTF!

And remembering how they
went on and on
how our tribe was going be
as numerous as the
grains of sand
at the beach.
Yeah, sis.
As many as the
stars in the sky.

WTF! WTF! WTF!

What were they thinking?
That Hagar scheme didn’t
work out at all.
And even though
Old Aunt Sarai is a hottie,
(Can’t imagine Abe pawning her off
to a king twice)
Two words: Ancient Sex


OMG! OMG! OMG!
Eew! Eew! Eew!



So sis,
It looks like it’s up to us.
Good thing we grabbed
the bottle
from Mom’s purse.

The double neat for Dad
and small one for us
I’ll go first
and you can follow me.

What?
No sloppy seconds for you!
WTF! WTF!! WTF!!!
OK
You can have him tomorrow.

OK sis,
A toast before we start.
May the one God of
Great Uncle Abram
and Great Aunt Sarai
remember us
in His book of Life.