New Year's Resolutions for 2013

"Finally, brethren, what ever things are true,

Whatever things are honest,

Whatever things are just,

Whatever things are pure,

Whatever things are lovely,

Whatever things are of good report:

If there be virtue, and if there be any praise,

Think on these things."

Paul speaks to us through the ages

With his guide to New Year's resolutions.

In 2013,

Let us search for truth,

Focus on being honest not only to others

But to ourselves.

Support justice

For the least of these brothers of mine.

Strive to not be harsh or cruel

To those around us

And affirm the hopes and dreams of others.

Let us

Focus on the beauty within,

Fill our minds with hope,

Shun that which diminishes others,

Praise those who do right.

May we turn to God in prayer 

When our world grows dark

And

Remember

That we are not alone.  

Christmas Day 2012 - The Word

Photo by bahoootah qtr

"In the beginning was the Word,

And the is Word was with God,

And the Word was God."

"And the Word was made flesh

And dwelt among us..."

The Gospel of John

Speaks the message of Christmas.

Jesus is God in action,

The instrument of creation,

The instrument of salvation.

God shed his majesty to experience

The world

As one of those made in his image.
As human,
He could experience death.

Resurrected,
He could demonstrate everlasting life.

The Christmas Babe:
Fully God and Fully Human.
He comes with promise of
Life Eternal
Embraced in His Love.

The Gift of the Christmas Babe

Christmas Babe sleeping in a manger,

How great is your gift of

Everlasting life.

Glory to God incarnate!

Your kingdom endures forever.

Let us seek to become more like you

As we follow your example on earth

And in heaven.

As we light the Advent candles

Let us be filled with your love.

Strengthen our faith

So that we may be an example to others

And lead no one astray.

The world beckons with selfishness and avarice.

Help us respond with compassion and generosity.

Nothing is ours.

All is God's.

The Babe born 
Long ago
In another land

Became a man

Who led the way
To life beyond the grave.

Grief at Advent

We look forward to the celebration
Of our Savior's birth.
The babe that became  
The Suffering Servant who walked among us.
Remember him
Both babe and man
  As we search for meaning
In the wreckage of so many lives.
Son of Man

 Spread the balm of God's love

Over the grief of this nation.

Teach us to care for those that struggle
With the ills of the mind.

Nurture those we cannot hold,

Those filled with grief,

And share your presence with them

As you share your presence with us.

Deafen our ears to the seductive call
Of guns and power.

Quench our thirst for violence.

So that all may walk in safety and peace.

For yours is the embrace,

 The solace, and the love.

That endures forever.

Mark's Missing Advent

painting by Karen Soleau

"And it came to pass, in those days,
That Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee,
And was baptized by John in the Jordan."
So we meet Jesus in the Gospel of Mark.
There is no babe, no wise men, no shepherds,
Not even Mary and Joseph.
Mark cares not for the birth
We will celebrate on December 25.
Mark begins at the start
Of Jesus ministry.
A man grown,
Jesus announces himself
By submission to another
To be baptized.
And God speaks:
"Thou art my beloved Son,
In whom I am well pleased."
Jesus knew he was God's word,
Now he receives God's love.
At Advent and Christmas
May we all know
The embrace of the Holy Spirit,
God's love.

Advent 2012

Photo by nz willowherb

Advent has arrived
With blustery winds
And driving rain.

Cold pierces the body

And scenes of avarice pierce the soul.
Winter,

The season of
Our savior's birth
And our celebration.
December 25 will come.
That day
Nine months since his conception, 
The same day and month
On which he died.
Now we wait in anticipation,
As the world waited long ago,
 Bethlehem flickers in the distance. 
Come,
Prepare the way for the Lamb of God.

Choice and Faith

We are weeks from selecting
Our next President.
While I feel my choice is God's choice,
My neighbor feels likewise
But votes for someone else.
Jesus said to love your neighbor.
Did he mean whether
Republican or Democrat or Other?
Yes.
When we demonize our neighbor
Because their politics are not ours,
We break Christ's command.
God, please forgive my political passions;
Help me forgive the political passions of others.
Deliver our nation from evil of our own choosing
Let this nation's choice be worthy. 
Never forget that whoever wins

God abides.

Prayer of Grief

Photo by Tony Fischer Photography

Suffering Servant who walks among us

Wonderful is your name.

Spread your eternal balm of love

For the grief

That so many are absent.

Let us beat swords into plowshares

In obedience to the love

That flows from the devotion binding

Creator, Word, and Comforter 

Into One.

Care for those we cannot touch,

And share your bounty with them

And with us.

Blood drips from our hands, 

Blood of the guilty

Mingled with

Blood of the innocent.

Forgive us

As we forgive those who shed our blood

So that there may be peace.

Deafen our ears to the trumpet call of power.

Quench our thirst for revenge

So that we may be close to you.

For yours is the embrace,

 The solace, and the love.

That endures forever.

Easter 2012

He is risen!
He is risen indeed!
These words echo
Through the centuries.
The words of resurrection.
The words of Easter.
The heartbeat of Christianity.

Photo by hoyameg

We cannot speak in platitudes
Of spiritual resurrection.
All four gospels leave no doubt.
This was the resurrection of the body,
Not some nebulous spirit,
Not some wished belief.
The disciples, lost and grieving,
Change in one day.
Soon they will spread the news
Throughout the world
For they know the truth:
Death has been conquered,
Christ is alive.
We celebrate his resurrection
And his promise
That all who care
Shall have eternal life.
He is risen.
He is risen today.

The Missing Day

On this day,
The apostles are absent

From the gospels.
This missing day.
Jesus is dead
His disciples believe.
Their world is ashes.
Their grief is immense.
They fear for their lives.
They hide in the upper room.
Only the women dare to go out.
Jerusalem is strangely quiescent.

Pilate places a guard by the tomb.

This day Christ's body lies undisturbed.
Tomorrow the disciples' world

Will come alive
But not today.
We must remember

That missing day
When sorrow fills us,
When we tremble in fear,
When we hide from the world.
Those that knew our Savior best
Did not escape their human frailty,
Neither can we.
We know that with the morrow
Came relief and jubilation.
We have the risen Christ
Not the missing day.

Why Good Friday?

  By lepianda

Why is it called Good Friday?

I have heard many answers.

None satisfy.

Jesus, the Word made flesh, God incarnate,

Died on Friday.
The day before he shared the Passover meal
With those that believed in him.

Fully human.

So human that he suffered agony

Nailed to a cross
After a brutal flogging.

We recoil in horror

At his death

And think it took so long.

Six hours.

Most crucified took days to die
Unless they were flogged.

Fully God

Who had never known death.

All God's creation past had drunk

Of that bitter cup,

But God had not.

God died on the first Good Friday,

As much of God

As could exist in human form.

His body was laid in a tomb

As his mother wept.

All creation waited.

Maunday Thursday 2012

Maundy Thursday.

The Thursday before Easter.

The day before the crucifixion.

The day that Jesus washed his disciples feet

Even though he knew

His death was at hand.

The day Jesus and his disciples
Ate their Passover meal
In an upper room.
There Jesus instituted Communion,

The Lord's Supper,
Christians practice today.

There Judas shared bread with Jesus

Before he left to betray him.

Today many will gather for Communion.

Where believers partake of this sacrament
The Holy Spirit joins them.
Bread and wine,
Flesh and blood.

Remember the man. 

Remember the Word made flesh.
Remember God kneeling before each disciple.

Remember Jesus' patience.

Remember his sacrifice.

Spy Wednesday

Judas and Peter

Spy Wednesday,

Holy Wednesday,

The Wednesday before the Crucifixion.

The day that Judas Iscariot

Went to the High Priests.

For thirty pieces of silver

Judas would hand Christ over to them.

In the time that follows.
Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss.

Peter denies Jesus thrice.
Judas dies by his own hand.
Peter dies Christ's servant

Many years later.
What is the difference?
Judas never knew forgiveness

In this world.
Peter knew forgiveness

From the risen Christ.
Why was one desolate onto death 

And the other emboldened for life?
Because Judas acted
While Peter waited?
Is that the answer?
When all is clothed in darkness,
We must wait

For divine guidance,
Not act on impulse.

In this Easter season,
Give us the strength

To wait for God's whisper.

Jerusalem: City of Faith

Jerusalem, City of Faith.

Three great religions

Honor your streets.

After three years of ministry,

Jesus chose to come

To Jerusalem

Where he knew death waited.

Why?

We can only speculate.

To atone?

To experience death?

To fulfill prophecy?

To teach us

What?
We know with certainty
The choice was his.
We know with certainty
He knew what was to come.

When we follow Christ,
We must not turn from
The challenges of life
Nor ignore the death
That always lurks in our future.
His example leads us forward
Through life and beyond.

Palm Sunday 2012

In Christian churches today,

Children carried palm fronds down the aisles

In memory of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. 
On that day so long ago

The crowd spread their cloaks and palm leaves

Before his donkey's feet.

Hosannas filled the air.

In one week, 
Christ would 

Be arrested,

Condemned

And

Crucified.

His body placed in a tomb

And

Resurrected.

Did Jesus know what was to come

As he rode into Jerusalem?

I think he did.

And still he came to Jerusalem.

Prayer for Compassion

 

Jesus, who taught us to care for the least,

Praise your compassion.

We must love our neighbors

As the Samaritan loved
The one fallen by the wayside.

Help us bring solace to the suffering.

Forgive us
When we do not respond to those in need

As we forgive
Those that turn away from us when we suffer.

If, by your will, we accumulate wealth,

Deliver us from selfishness.

For you are the love that engulfs us

Now and through eternity.

Amen.

 

The First Sunday of Lent

Photo by Chalky Live

Jesus,

Who spent forty days in the desert,

Praise to you God in action.

Out of the wilderness
You brought your new covenant.

One we must honor and fulfill.

Lacking food for the body,
You were tested and triumphed.

Give us a portion of your courage this day.

In Jerusalem, 
You were tortured and killed.

Forgive us when our actions recall your anguish.

Help us forgive those we love who torture our souls.

Give us some small portion of the inner strength
You took into the desert,

So that we can resist the lure of wickedness and evil.

You create our existence

And bind us with love

Now and through eternity.
Amen.

New Years Resolutions

Photo by eschipul

"Finally, brethren, what ever things are true,

Whatever things are honest,

Whatever things are just,

Whatever things are pure,

Whatever things are lovely,

Whatever things are of good report:

If there be virtue, and if there be any praise,

Think on these things."

Paul speaks through the ages

With his guide to New Year's resolutions.

In 2012,

I will search for truth,

Focus on being honest not only to others

But to myself.
I will support justice
For the least of these brothers of mine.
I will strive to not be harsh or rough
With those around me
And affirm their hopes and dreams.
I will
Focus on the beauty within,
Fill my mind with hope,
Shun that which diminishes others,
Strive to see the good in all.
This election year
I want to see
God's image in everyone.