Who Is It?

Meditation:  Bring your sins to God's throne, and you will receive the peace of God.

Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?
Who is this that cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers?
Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?
Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?
-This that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength?
Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass?
Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us:
this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.


Songs 8,
Jeremiah 46,
Songs 3,
Isaiah 63,
Lamentations 3,
Isaiah 25

In the Path of the Cat

Meditation:  And I think God meant us to be this way

This day was grey;

A thin layer of snow lay over the sidewalks and flagstones of the little city. 

I printed it as I walked along;

Feeling the slightly raw cold of the late Lenten winter.

Not many snows left in it, I suppose;

But rain, oh yes, there would be rain.

Looking down I saw that other feet, little feet had come this way. 

Critter feet, cat feet, planted carefully;

Back feet falling in the same prints as the front feet;

Darkly pressing through to the sidewalk, with no details showing. 

The snow was damp, and I imagine those little feet were wet;

Yet they wandered from side to side on the sidewalk, with curiosity;

Investigating a postal box on one side, peering down an alley on the other.

Until finally they started to be filled, more and more with snow.  

The snow must have been falling as the cat walked, and he, or she,

Had been walking in the opposite direction from the direction I was walking.

I wondered by how much we had missed each other,

Me going, and the cat coming;

Did the cat pause, and watch me as I set out?

Eyeing me as I adjusted my bag over my shoulder and zipped my coat?

Or was the cat well past, with only me aware of our passing;

Inches away from each other in space, but more distant in time?

The cat’s journey was certainly a series of moments lived for themselves;

Whiskers a-tingle, damp feet getting the occasional shake,

Eyeing a bird, pausing to let a car slide by….

But for me it was more contemplative.  

What was the cat doing where the prints moved just so? 

Was this near the beginning or the end of its journey?

Ah, look how it moved!   

Like with us, the cat’s life is lived forwards,

But can only be contemplated properly in reverse.

We Wander in the Wilderness

Proposed Antiphon: Creation starts with chaos

We wander in the wilderness

And all our stars are out of place

We hide in holes and in ditches

And the wind passes over where we lie

We have little

And what we have is taken from us

Once our counsel was sought after

But now we are counted as fools and idiots

Once we spoke and others leapt to obey

Now we speak and only the beasts answer

Friends are struck down

And family members suffer and die

We persist in our prayers

And call out to our God

Where is the path of truth?

Where is the way that leads through this desert?

We wander in the wilderness

And all our stars are out of place

Unclean

His name we deny
And cross it out of our books
It must not be mentioned
Not in public
Or in the counting-house
Or at conference
Or even between strangers

We are embarrassed to call upon His name
We do not stir ourselves to take hold of Him
Wisdom is cast aside
And folly is counted as righteousness

We abandon His houses
And they rot
They are burned and not rebuilt
Or are used to store dead things
Or as drinking halls
Used for revelry and debauchery

Our leaders no longer contemplate His words
But instead their own
Saying that there is no true spirit
Only contemplations

So our portion is taken away
As it should be taken from unfaithful servants
And we weaken and fade
What is your instruction
To the servants who remain?
What is your word?

God’s Sheep are Confused

God’s sheep are confused;
Stubbornly, we have wandered astray;
We wander in the wilderness;
And know not where we go.

Where is our Lord?
Where is His staff, that keeps harm at bay?
Where is His hand, that comforts us?

We follow His footsteps, and we find food.
We listen for His voice, and it leads us to fresh water.

But the food here is strange and sparse.
And the times of plenty have gone.
At night we lie down where we may,
We are grateful to be able to sleep,
And are grateful to be able to rise to follow the Lord again.

Will the hard times end?
Will we see the land joyful again?
Will we drink the wine of plenty,
And be anointed with blessings once more?

Help us to repent our stubbornness;
Help us to find wisdom, and remember your lessons;
Help us to follow you more closely;
And live within the warmth of your bosom.

God’s sheep are confused;
Stubbornly, we have wandered astray;
We wander in the wilderness;
And know not where we go.