Pentecost Poetry – she-walks-with-many-names
June 12, 2011
she walks with many names
through wind and flame
breathing passion
in water and light
graceful in the frolic of glory
mothering
she comforts diverse hearts
awakens and dwells
among the deeper wells
within
rests and soars
along the driving current
wherein
she speaks with many tongues
to divine and portend
a whisper of hope
with renown and acclaim
the conviction of love again and again
O, her mystifying ways
O, her succulent allure
the barest scent
you can discover
as the gentle breeze
caresses your face
as the gale force
batters your body
breathing new life
with the quickening
of living transformation
where the living liquid
flows forth
one Spirit
one Body
one Lord
Pentecost Poetry – coals of my soul
June 11, 2011
a whispering hope smoulders
in these glowing inward embers
…waiting for the eternal breath
to blow on them
bringing new life
and flame within
fire and wind
propel one another
…the ancient mystery
stoking the coals
of renewed flesh and spirit
now fueled with wildfire within
Pentecost Poetry – fons vivus, ignis caritas
June 10, 2011
in the cascade of
a living fountain
a fiery love
such pure saveur
in a moment so vulnerable
formed with fire and water
a baptism sealing
the signs and wonders
of Love
who with the diligence
of a master craftsman
lovingly submits Her Masterpiece
to the blazing travails
of an inferno unbound
separating the impurities
while new strength is found
forged in a life of fierce devotion
flowing from a living Source
both within and without
Pentecost Poetry – the texture of eternity
June 9, 2011
Yesterday began the Jewish holiday of Shavu’ot, the Feast of Weeks, in which – 50 days after Passover – Jews would bring the first fruits of the recent harvest into the Temple. For us, we remember this as Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on all flesh and sending us out as workers in the harvest. Thus for the next four days, until Pentecost Sunday, we will have a piece of wordcraft or poetry in celebration! Today, our first is called: the texture of eternity
with the oil of gladness
burning on my brow
alight with anointing
i get caught up
in the embrace
of such instance
where i could never be content
…with indistinct distance
…with inadequate detachment
rather than the demonstration
…Your Holy Touch
…Your Love Divine
that sprinkles mercy
upon my face
while liquid joy
runs up and down my spine
embracing me
with the texture of eternity
Lent Lectio: Psalm 23
April 1, 2011
Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
It is verse three that catches my eye and my breath.
He refreshes my soul. (Or, he restores my soul).
The winter of life must become spring. Our soul does transition – at some point, usually long after we would wish – from the bleakness and desolation of winter into the hope of the new buds of spring.
He refreshes my soul.
I can be sure of that relationship with the God who shepherds me.
He restores my soul.
I do not restore my own soul, I cannot refresh my own inner self. God acts; I am the subject of the sentence and of God.
He
restores
my
soul.
Lent Lectio: Psalm 121 A Song of Ascents
March 18, 2011
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From whence does my help come?
2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip, he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
8The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore.
Lent Lectio: Psalm 32
March 11, 2011
We enter the Lenten season wondering what is ahead for us. The season is about cleansing, preparing ourselves to experience the Christ event - crucifixion, resurrection – within ourselves. We think about how to fast, how to pray, how to live in this season.
David in Psalm 32 guides us. He invites us into this cleansing, teaching us what is expected.
1 Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the one
whose sin the LORD does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
I have deceit in spirit, wherever I am trying to conceal (from myself, from God, from others) where I am broken and where I am struggling.
It is difficult to keep up the charade, though I try.
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
But God in his grace overwhelms me. Heavy-handed on my shoulder, I feel God’s awareness of me. And this gives me the strength to be cleansed.
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD.”
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
I choose to come out of my hiding place, to unveil my sin and the shame associated with it, to unveil my pride and the arrogance associated with it.
6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
I find safety in this cleansing. I find joy, singing, deliverance. I find my true self as I find myself united with God, not separate from God in my actions and my heart.
May God cleanse us in this season, teaching us who He is – truly, deeply – and delivering us from ourselves.
Teaching People to Experience God
March 2, 2011
In this session from the Society of Vineyard Scholars conference in Seattle, Stanford Anthropologist DR. Tanya Luhrmann presents her findings after studying what and how Vineyard churches teach people to experience God. One of the fascinating pieces is her exploration of the spiritual disciplines implicit and explicit as a member of a Vineyard community, which help to form us, and it’s correlation to Ignatian spirituality. Enjoy!
SVS 2011 Plenary #2: Tanya Luhrmann from Society of Vineyard Scholars on Vimeo.
Taking Stock of Your Miserable Existence
February 25, 2011
Nigel Marsh riff-ing from St. Benedict
Advent Lectio – Week 2: Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13
December 3, 2010
Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13
A psalm of the sons of Korah.
You restored the captivity of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of Your people;
You covered all their sin. Selah. (1-2)
__________
Too often I’ve separated favor and forgiveness … yet here they’re intertwined. The mystery of the Lord’s favor/restoration and forgiveness/atonement indeed overwhelm our iniquity; not just mine, but ours. I’m humbled in such wonder at the encompassing goodness of our God, the strength of our Redeemer, the love and humility of Jesus, the very Lamb of God.
__________
I will hear what God the LORD will say;
For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones;
But let them not turn back to folly.
Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
That glory may dwell in our land.
Lovingkindness and truth have met together;
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Truth springs from the earth,
And righteousness looks down from heaven.
Indeed, the LORD will give what is good,
And our land will yield its produce.
Righteousness will go before Him
And will make His footsteps into a way. (8-13)
____________
The voice of God rings anew as we return again to listen to His Incarnation. In the waiting of Advent, He speaks peace to us. Does not t the angel’s joyous chorus echo to us even now: Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.
He is pleased. He is pleased to shower His sacrificial and humble Love upon people. This Jesus — the way, the truth, the life; the One in whom Mercy, Truth, Righteousness and Peace come together, who has become the Way we have waited for, and in whose footsteps we now follow, so that a harvest beyond our imaginings would be yielded. Glory to God in the highest … redemption draws nigh.
+ O Lord, lead us – Thy People – in Your Way, into Truth and all Life. Life-Giver, You who live through us, we remember your humble heart in this season of waiting anew; we ever wait upon You, O Lord. Amen. +