In Our Distress

Meditation: angelus est nomen officii

In my extremity, I called out to the Lord;
I cried out in the congregation in my distress.
I was answered with love;
I was restored and removed to a better place;
With the love of the Lord with me, how can I be cut down?

Place your trust in the Lord;
Seek the Almighty where he waits upon his beloved;
Though your enemies surround you;
Though you find yourself at fault and unworthy;
Though you see no escape, there is help and hope for you;
The Lord is our strength and right arm;
His servants listen for the cry of the oppressed;
They wait upon the word of the Lord.

The Lord is our salvation and our help;
Though we may be chastised,
we are not condemned;
Though we find ourselves in distress;
even at the end of our lives and beyond;
We are enfolded and comforted;
In the Lord we find our true labor;
In the Lord we truly find ourselves.

-distantly after Ps 118

The Other Parts of Our Hearts

Meditation:  We must listen for God speaking through each other


The problem is:
In order to speak to you;
For you to understand;
It seems like I must speak as an adult.

But for me to tell you the truth;
For us to truly communicate;
For your heart to hear me;
I must speak as a child.

And it may very well be
that there are no words at all
that express what we feel.

In which case
I ask that you imagine
the tears in my eyes
and the way my face crumples
and bends.

Somewhere
the other parts of our hearts
are hidden

Today we can only
try and hope
to remember.

I heard that God lived in the forest

Proposed Antiphon:  Deep in the forest, if you listen, You can hear faint hymns of joy among the trees

I heard that God lived in the forest

And I built a fence around it

Every day, I chopped down as many trees as I could

One day the forest was gone

And I felt very free and alone

The next day a robber showed up and took everything I had

And he laughed at me

I brought him to a court of law

And the judge said that it was all relative

My children said to me ‘why have you lied to us?’

And they abandoned me to seek pleasure

My spouse said ‘what does my vow mean now?’

And left with a richer, perhaps wiser man

I heard that God lived in the forest

And I built a fence around it

Every day, I chopped down as many trees as I could

One day the forest was gone

And I felt very alone

These Broken Parts (Reprise)

I have many topics to write about and yet today this previous post is inspiring me in my life of broken parts.

Proposed Antiphon: Push Towards The Light!

Today a little person
Was trying to re-make her bed
She thought she must have been doing it wrong all week
Because the sheets wouldn’t lie flat
And tended to come off

But really her bed
Was made this week with sheets that weren’t quite right
They were an odd size
Big enough
Workable
But not perfect
And she thought it was her fault
I laughed and explained the problem to her

And thought
That life is like that
Funny but functional
Wrong but workable
Makeshift and marvelous
And that we are forever filling the cracks
And jumping the gaps
And thinking we must be doing something wrong
When in fact, we are doing marvelously
With what we have
Which is enough
Which is workable
Which is a blessing

Perfect is some other world
Not the one we live in
No, we are surrounded by
Appendices of errata
Panda’s thumbs and horse’s toes
Scars and defects
Duct tape and bailing wire

See, in a perfect world
Where everything works well
You would already be at the goal
And that’s not what we’re about
We’re about the next thing
The thing you can barely imagine from here

The thing that you can make if you cobble together
These broken parts
With the contents of the junk drawer
And some duct tape
And bailing wire
And whatever else happens to be lying around

And when we get close to that barely imagined thing
We’ll mostly make it work
But not perfectly
Because we are already busy
Working on the next thing
The thing you can barely imagine from there

And I think God meant us to be this way
Always a little broken
Always working on that next thing
That we can barely imagine from here

The Voices We Will Not Hear (Reprise)

Alternate Title: 'We Are The Friends'

Previously Posted Here

Proposed Meditation: It is, in the end, all about love.

They are wrong.
They are so very wrong.
We can't hear their voice.

They call out to us - they say:
Isn't this injustice?
Isn't this torture?
Isn't this slavery?

But we can't hear.
We talk louder.
We talk about other things.
We talk about their failings;
We talk about their sin;
We talk about their error.

They sit in their ash-pits,
Covered with sin,
Covered with death,
Covered with sores,
Maligning righteousness,
Indicting the good we do,
Trying to pull us down with them.

They call out to us - they say:
Is this right?
Is this fair?
Is this justice?

But we won't hear;
Instead we talk about maintaining order,
We talk about helping others,
We talk about sharing,
We talk about becoming involved.

They moan on their death-beds accusingly,
They sigh from their cells,
Their deaths scream out to us,
Maligning righteousness,
Indicting good,
Trying to pull down God.

They call out to us - they say:
Would you want this?
Would you choose this?
Would you live this?

But we refuse to hear,
Instead we talk about precedent,
Instead we talk about independence,
Instead we talk about the needs of others,
We shift away so that they don't contaminate us.

They shuffle in their shackles frighteningly,
Occasionally they catch our eyes uncomfortably,
They abusively mention their lost children,
They truculently bring up their lost freedom,
Trying to make us feel sorry for what they deserved,
Trying to shift the argument,
Trying to unseat justice.

They call out to us - they say;
Would you do this to your friend?
Would you do this to a servant?
Do you still keep slaves?

But we won't hear;
We make up stories about them that might be true,
We talk about the rights of others,
We talk about how they cannot be trusted,

They are wrong.
They are so very wrong.
We can not hear their voice.

Chocolate

Proposed Antiphon: A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Chocolate, ...

Honey, ...

Bread, ...

Lemons, Butter, Trees, Dogs, Sunshine, ...

Elephants, Grass, Eggplant, Olives, Fuzzy Peaches, Beaches, French Fries, ...

Birds, Streams and Brooks, Skipping Stones, Crayfish, Noses, Eyes, Ears, Toes, Poppy Seeds, ...

Blue Sky, Clouds, Baklava, Milk, Cats, Eggs, Goats and Sheep, Vines and Grapes, Flowers, ...

Kittens and Puppies, Baby Animals of All Sorts, Wine and Water, Pepper, Fingernails, Milkweed and Monarchs, Persimmons and Figs, Curiosity, Spaghetti, Rings, Marshes, Cloth, Skin and Bark, Gold, Iron, Paprika, Stars, Ants, Beans, Volcanoes, Whales, Churches, Oxen, Snack Time, Work, Blood, Bells, Rainbows, Fur, Dirt, Electricity, Paper, Nests, Love, Crystals, Malt, Felt, Silver, Eyebrows, Dyes, Mist and Fog, Houses, Watches, Helpful Strangers, Parties and Friendships, Co-Workers and Acquaintances, Wives and Husbands, Parents and Children, Grandparents and Grandkids, Aunts and Uncles, Nieces and Nephews, …

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

…Scott and Hilary, Craig and Lora, Ian and Renee, Libby and Jill, Mom and Dad,

And Most of All,

YOU

Are Evidence That God Loves Us

-And Wants Us To Be Happy.

A Winter Faith (Reprise)

Proposed Antiphon: Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God


Cruel wintry winds
Howl, hiss and blow
Across the ice
Over the snow

Bare trees poke up
No life is seen
The ice gives all
A glassy sheen

Nothing moves
Lest blown about
High up above
Cold stars are out

Your face is numb
Your fingers chill
Breath a brief cloud
And all is still

Below the snow
Below the ice
In buried peace
Lie seeds and mice

Fish dream fish dreams
Deep in the ponds
While cruel winds whip
The cattail fronds

Chipmunks sleep tight
And dream of sun
Of nuts and grain
Of chipmunk fun

Down in the mud
The frogs all sleep
Turtles mark time
In burrows deep

Warmth will return
The ice will go
And life will rise
And water flow

Snow drops will leap
Out of their grave
Then crocuses;
These plants are brave

The buds will swell
And burst and bloom
The earth will shed
This wintry gloom

But bravest, first
Sign of the mild
The Christmas birth;
The holy Child

Reminding us
This wintry strife
Lies briefly over
Our vibrant life

From out of dark
Comes life and light
Showing us God's
Power and might.


Original Post

Jacob's Ladder, Reprise

On Genesis 28:10-19

Antiphon: Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos

In the desert all alone
beneath his head he laid a stone
the stars looked down upon his face
in this dark desolate place.

In his dreams a ladder shone
let down from heaven to his stone
beside him holy voices spoke
out of fire and out of smoke.

"Where you go there I am too
I will always be with you"
-every place, a place of God
if floored with sand, gold, wood, or sod.

Original Post

After Psalm 90

Antiphon: Laugh with the joy of the spirit; Who stands with the humble and meek.

Dearest God, our hearts and souls are yours
And have been since time began

Before the earth brought forth mountains
And before the seas were formed
From everlasting to everlasting
You are God

At your will we return to dust and are forgotten
For a thousand years in your sight
Is like yesterday when it is past
Less than a watch in the night

Our days, our lives, even our times are swept away
They are like a dream,
Like grass that withers and dies
Grass that you renew in the morning, in the spring
With the rising of your Son.

LE

I am a jumble of broken parts that know nothing of each other.

Antiphon: We Will Meet Again, The Wolves, The Fire, And I.


I am a jumble of broken parts that know nothing of each other.

It is as if a farmer opened his seed bin and found;
An acorn,
Seventeen rusty machine screws of unmatched sizes, some covered in tar,
Three quarters of an inch of bailing wire,
Half of a stale cookie,
Four ants,
And a dead mouse.

Or maybe it is as if a householder planted squash in the garden;
and watched the plants sprout, and grow and put forth leaves,
and blossom, and begin to set fruit;
only to come out one day and find them all blackened and shriveled with a blight.

Or maybe it is like a merchant who plotted a trading route;
And built a ship and set out;
And travelled for leagues and leagues,
Only to look through the glass and find his destination laid waste.
And planned a new route, a new destination,
And travelled to within sight of shore,
Only to be driven off by pirates.
But being unwearied and unbowed, he plotted yet another course
To a new destination, and sailed strange waters,
Only to be halted by impassible reefs and inhospitable masses of land.

So I sit with the fragments of the lives I have lived,
And wonder what to do, and where to go;
And I remember not long ago,
When these mismatched parts,
Somehow lined up and made a perfect and remarkable machine.

A plan of goodness;
A pathway to a new place;
The seeds of a new life.

And today
With my water running low
And my sails ragged
And my options limited;
I pray for inspiration to God;
Who knows how these broken, jumbled parts
Are remarkable, and
Can made to work together
Once again

-LE

A Revised Our Father

Dearest God And Holy Father Of All,
Who Surrounds Us With Love,
Glorify Your Sacred Name,
Complete Your Holy Kingdom Here On Earth,
And Establish Your Will On Earth, As It Is In Heaven.
Increase Our Faith And Bless Us With The Holy Spirit,
Satisfy Our True Needs,
And Forgive Us Our Sins;
As We Forgive Those Who Have Harmed Us.
Shield Us From Temptation
And Save Us From Evil,
For All Power And Glory Descend From You,
Who Is Deserving Of Eternal Praise.
Amen

-LE

Slightly revised from a version written and published online by me in 2001

Antiphon: God knows the fish of the sea, and the stars of the sky, every one by its own name.

My Shepherd Is The Lord (Reprise)

My shepherd is the Lord
For nothing shall I want
In pastures green I rest
From waters still I drink

My soul my God restores
In fear God gives me strength
When lost God leads me home
And keeps me as God's own

God names me as his child
My sins for me forgives
With oil anoints my head
And sees to all my needs

My home is with the Lord
With God I'll always be
In joy God leads me out
With love God leads me home

In dark I have no fear
In trouble I have peace
In God I put my trust
For God is always near

In faith I have my life
and rise when life is done
The Lord keeps me each day
In life eternaly

(prior entry)

Pray For Your God

What do we do when we bless the Lord?
In times of need, when times are hard?
What do we do when we bless the Lord?

Why does the Lord need us to pray?
Where is the Lord when we suffer today?
Why does the Lord need us to pray?

Bless the Lord and for God Pray;
That God would share with us this day.
Pray in the dark when all seems Ill;
And life seems vile and warmth seems chill.

The Creator made you; With God be;
Through life and death your God will see;
Pray for your God, your life and soul;
Pray that you grow and become whole.

Have faith and wait and God will come;
And over time, God’s will be done.

For I Am Your God

After Isaiah 43:1-7

The One who created you speaks,
The One who formed you opens his mouth with good tidings:

Do not fear your God,
Your sins do not crush you in my judgement;

For I have redeemed you,
I have called you by name, and you are mine;

You may feel overwhelmed,
Your problems may seem insurmountable;

But though the waters press down upon you, you shall not be drowned,
Though the fire burn all around you, you shall not be burned;

For I am your God,
The Holy One, your Savior;

I overturn kingdoms and empires for your sake,
I make the darkness light to comfort and deliver you;

Because you are precious in my sight,
I love you, and you stand in honor among my servants;

Do not fear, for I am with you,
I will rescue your children from distant lands,
And the prisons of men shall not hold them from you;

I will ransom every one who is called by my name,
Whom I created in glory,
Whom I formed and made.


May Love, Peace and Grace Reign About You

-LE

These Broken Parts

Today a little person
Was trying to re-make her bed
She thought she must have been doing it wrong all week
Because the sheets wouldn’t lie flat
And tended to come off

But really her bed
Was made this week with sheets that weren’t quite right
They were an odd size
Big enough
Workable
But not perfect
And she thought it was her fault
I laughed and explained the problem to her

And thought
That life is like that
Funny but functional
Wrong but workable
Makeshift and marvelous
And that we are forever filling the cracks
And jumping the gaps
And thinking we must be doing something wrong
When in fact, we are doing marvelously
With what we have
Which is enough
Which is workable
Which is a blessing

Perfect is some other world
Not the one we live in
No, we are surrounded by
Appendices of errata
Panda’s thumbs and horse’s toes
Scars and defects
Duct tape and bailing wire

See, in a perfect world
Where everything works well
You would already be at the goal
And that’s not what we’re about
We’re about the next thing
The thing you can barely imagine from here

The thing that you can make if you cobble together
These broken parts
With the contents of the junk drawer
And some duct tape
And bailing wire
And whatever else happens to be lying around

And when we get close to that barely imagined thing
We’ll mostly make it work
But not perfectly
Because we are already busy
Working on the next thing
The thing you can barely imagine from there

And I think God meant us to be this way
Always a little broken
Always working on that next thing
That we can barely imagine from here

Strange Fish Who Seek The Fisherman

God draws us in.
We are always moving
Always hiding, always shifting
But God knows where we are
and God draws us in.

God draws us in like an angler
Playing a strong fish with a weak line
Gently tugging
Pulling and drawing.

We go other ways
We dart this way and that
Sometimes we circle slowly in
And sometimes we break the line and charge away
And God must cast for us again, and again.

God is a patient fisherman
God’s nets are wide and can enclose us all
And yet we can slip out if we will;

God can land his lures over us,
Wherever we hide
But we can ignore them
Or we can break the line and escape.

We must be fish who want to be caught
Who allow ourselves to be drawn;
Fish who seek the fisher.

Because the day will come
When the fisher packs up his gear
And there is no more time
No time for playing the difficult fish
Who wants to go its own way.

A day when the fisherman will take his catch
To the eternal river
Where they will forever
Swim in the holy water of God.

After 2 Timothy 2, Reprise

This is a re-run of After 2 Timothy 2 (with some formatting changes), which text is speaking to me today.

Remember Jesus in your sufferings,
and if you are chained,
remember that the word of God cannot be chained.

Endure for the sake of the world,
that the world may also obtain salvation,
for if we die with Jesus,
we will rise with Christ,
and if we endure we will also reign with him.

Jesus cannot save us while we deny him,
but he remains faithful to us,
seeking us and consoling us when we despair.

Even in our denial,
in our guilt and sin,
Jesus must remain faithful to us,
because he cannot deny himself,
and there is great hope in that.

Jesus is our redeemer,
and seeks our redemption,
so seek to return to and keep true to Jesus,
even as he keeps true to you.

Peace,
LE

Some minor blog changes - you will notice the 'Zeitgeist' of tags is now alphabetical - much more useful. Some blogs that ceased to inspire me have been removed, and I have re-resurrected my rotating 'taglines' at the top.

It's big to me...

I am pushed to the cliff
Where I now stand
What's over the edge?
Rocks or Water? Or is it Sand?

I am pushed quite near the edge
I worry I will fall
And the vain things of my life will end
Many, if not all.

And God is with me as I push back
And as I squirm and twist
But can I count on God to help?
Or is my God just mist?

Oh sure my soul will be intact
I suppose that’s great
But a little help here as I squirm?
God won’t cooperate.

Shall I fall, and say that this
Is all God’s will and fine
And will I lose the little bits
I hold on to and call ‘mine’?

Help me Lord,
Show me the way,
It is not fun
To squirm this way.

LE

The Invisible Made Visible or 'When We Pray'

When we pray,
God doesn't come near;
God doesn't drop in,
God is already here.

When we pray,
God doesn't say 'Oh!'
'So that's what they need!'
God already knows.

So when we pray-
What happens then?
If God knows, is close,
What is prayer then?

Perhaps prayer is
Something WE do
To walk with Love;
And each other, too.

-LE

O Lord of Life and Death

O Lord of Life and Death
We thank you for the saints
Who left to us the word
And sang and taught and gave
And bled and suffered much

O Lord of Life and Death
Preserve the gifts they gave
Tend the light of the saints
For those yet to be born
Who will have much to learn

O Lord of Life and Death
Help us to remember
Those who went before us
All that they did for us
And all that they were and are


LE