Memorial Day 2013

"I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses;
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear,
The Son of God discloses."

 Memorial Day comes again.

Reminding me that

Another friend died this year.
Another funeral.
Grief for his family,
He will be missed.
Grief stirred memories rise
As "In the Garden" wakes

Forgotten sorrow.

A time of loss.
Old friends and family gone
As the World War II generation fades.

Those born in the rural past
Die in the urban present.

Too many precious friends

 Left long ago

In my generation's war,

In Viet Nam.

Their graves stand as sentinels

To this nation's hubris.

Now a new generation,

Young, full of hope,

Face their wars:

Afghanistan.

Iraq.

So many have died,

So many continue to die.

Bow your head

 To the sorrow

Of so much death

And listen to Christ's words,

"Blessed are they that mourn;
For they shall be comforted."

Photo by *clarity*

Trinity Sunday 2013

 The Trinity proclaims

"I am love in action."

The Creator,

I AM.

 The Christ,

The Word,

God in action.

The Holy Spirit,

The Comforter,

Love.

Together.
I AM Love in action.

Three in one,

Trinity.

Gladness is a Firefly

"This is the day the Lord hath made;

We will rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalm 118:24

My mother's favorite verse.
She had it posted on her bathroom mirror.

God is the Creator;

He speaks and existence begins.

Every day he renews that speech.

Apart from God

There is nothing.

Our time on earth is brief;

Let us savor each instant.

Joy comes from everywhere;

We need only pay attention.

Gladness, like a firefly,

Wings in and flashes for the moment.

If we try to trap gladness,

It will die.

Gladness must be free

To find another.

Rejoice,

For that is God's command.

Pentecost 2013

On this day,
The Comforter,

The Holy Spirit,

Makes her presence known.
The day is Pentecost.
Fifty days from Easter.
Ten days from Jesus' ascent into Heaven.
God as Comforter comes
As Christ promised.
Jews were celebrating
 The Feast of the First Fruits.
Was this the first harvest for Christ?

Photo by Lawrence CP

Too many turn from Pentecost
In dread

Of emotion,

Of losing control,

Of the Holy Spirit.
What we fear
Does not exist.

Only God,

Three in One,

Exists.
The Holy Spirit
Completes the Trinity.
The Holy Spirit
Is the Love
That binds Creator and Word.
The Holy Spirit
Is God's love
Washing over all people.
Share that love.

Paying Attention

Jesus stopped to drink at a well in Samaria.
There he met a woman
Who had come to do a daily chore:
Draw water.
Christ offered this woman of a scorned race
Living water,
Water that would give eternal life.
She was not a perfect being.
She had sinned and Jesus knew it.
But to her, Jesus said,
"I AM."
We seek God's presence
In edifices of faith.
Perhaps we need to seek God
Where we live.
Perhaps "I AM" seeks us
Where we pursue our daily tasks.
Perhaps we need only
Pay attention to those around us
To meet the great "I AM."

Photo by IJsendoorn