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

Amber Alert

Luke 2:41-51 / Psalm 44:23-24

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?”

The Impossible Takes a Little Longer

Matthew 17:17-20

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)

The Other Guy

Luke 7:36-50

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.

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.

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."

Kill the Buddha

The Buddhists have a saying:

“If the Buddha approaches you

on the road,

Kill him.

Because you are seeing the

Buddha

you have made

in your own image.”

When the Christ

approaches us 

on the road,

we have three

options.

We can run away

as the disciples

in the garden.

We can maim

and waylay

Him on the 

side of the road,

as in the traveler story

He told.

Or we can

discern who He is,

stop,

leave

the path we’re on,

and

Follow Him.

The First Pentecost

Luke 3:21-22 / Mark 1:9-12 / Gal 5:16

On this spring Sabbath,

we wear the red,

feel the breeze,

and imagine 

the Spirit

blowing through

the house

and 

setting us afire

as it happened

to the followers

in Jerusalem.

But didn't the 

first Pentecost 

 occur,

when

the Advocate

 descended 

on a

carpenter's son

to reveal

what it means

to walk 

in the

Spirit?

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

John 14:7-9 / Mt 25:42-44

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.

A Short Meditation on Giving

Mt 6:1-4 / Luke 21:1-4

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?"

Christian Zen

“All the way to heaven is heaven, 

because Jesus said, "I am the way.” 

―

 St. Catherine of Siena

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.

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

hole cards.

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 

list,

he sighed

his request

to al-Malik:

“Bless those you

have received in 

Paradise.

And make me 

an instrument 

of your

Justice.”

Bread of Life

Ex 12:17-20 /John 6:51-59

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."

Gasp

Mt. 22:37

(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!"

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."

Rock of Ages

Rock Of Ages

Luke 19:39-40 /Mark 12:10

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. 

Good Friday Meditation

Luke 23:34

Which is more

incredible?

That we

murdered 

God?

Or

He

dropped 

the charges

against us?

No Experience Required

Mt 20:1-16 /Luke 15:28-30

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.

Reflection on the Beatitudes

MT 5:1-12

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

Wedding Crashers

John 2:1-12 NIV

(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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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

Greeks

stuck in their

austerity pit.

The rich

on their private

beaches

claiming

poverty.

And while

I was reading

a story

about

the

fiscal cliff,

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?”

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.

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

Psalm 106:3/ Psalm 118:9/Matthew 5:1-12

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.

The Bramble King

 

Parable of the Trees

Judges 9:7-15 NIV

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.

　

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.