7.2012

Battle.
Paradoxically cosmic inside human.
Rage-fear mix that spurs the run from
Disappointment in the unbalanced
That I know should not be.
This spinning, reckless mindful of ideas
That no one mind can hold –
Try to flee and become engulfed
In the un-peace and un-quiet of
Too much.
Battle unbearable.
Fear pronounces self-inflicted soul-pain,
And legs and shoulders break under the
Pressure of unworthy.
Fall to the ground.
But heart-weight pulls and drags
Into depths of un-living,
As if dark and gravity
Were victorious captors
Of breath and hope.
Save me!
Disintegration of Hope
Reversed.
The reassembly of dry bones
Has secretly begun.
I see
The inseparable truth of
Resurrection and Hope.
Breath of life to the
Trembling verbal incarnation.
Body of Christ, Word incarnate
Speaks the river of life
Through veins shriveled and dry.
Reassemble this creature
Once created for Hope,
And sing its poetry once again.
The moment of the resurrection dawn
Is now.
Rise and sing your purposed part
In this choral river
Which through you flows.
To those who have tasted death,
Life is sweeter.
And the grave
Is but the door to resurrection.

Thoughts on Sharing our Stories, and the Sanctification of the Church

When we tell our stories, we risk. But we risk because we hope. We have hope that we will be understood. We have hope that the other will love us despite our failures and our admission of inadequacy, despite what we've done, where we've been, or in what ways we've been something other than who God created us to be. And it is this hope that makes the telling of our stories critical to the formation and continued vitality of community. I firmly believe that our struggles, abilities, successes, and experiences are not solely for our sanctification as individuals, but also for the sanctification - and even the functionality - of the Body of Christ. God allows us struggles in part for our own sanctification and participation in the sufferings and death of Christ, whom we are in and is in us. But God also allows us struggles so that we may encourage and challenge others into their own sanctification and participation in Christ's sufferings and death, and so in this we build up the Body. For since we participate in the sufferings and death of Christ, we also participate in His resurrection, not only as individuals, but also as the Body - His Body, His Bride - the Church.

"Love Deeply"

"Do not hesitate to love and to love deeply. You might be afraid of the pain that deep love can cause. When those you love deeply reject you, leave you, or die, your heart will be broken. But that should not hold you back from loving deeply. The pain that comes from deep love makes your love ever more fruitful. It is like a plow that breaks the ground to allow the seed to take root and grow into a strong plant. Every time you experience the pain of rejection, absence, or death, you are faced with a choice. You can become bitter and decide not to love again, or you can stand straight in your pain and let the soil on which you stand become richer and more able to give life to new seeds." -Henri Nouwen, The Inner Voice of Love

Incarnational Spring

Spring is bursting at its seams
To erupt through the ground and sky of
Aging winter.
It seems so light at first thought,
But the springtime wells up from the great depths
Like the spring of my soul,
When light pierces it and
Warmth surges through its tunnels.
It is imminent;
It will not, cannot be contained,
For it is a Living Thing,
A Word that makes the earth tremble.

New Life cannot be bound forever;
It travels in the rays of the Sun
And rides on the wings of the birds.
The breeze carries its message,
And with the rains it soaks blessing into the earth.

It is the fresh scent of clean laundry hanging out to dry.
It is the magical opening of flowers and windows.
It is the joy of children at the playground.
It is the spring cleaning.
It is the cookouts.
It is excitement in the air.
It is the returning spirit of adventure.
It is the resurrection mirror.