Tag Archives: Christ

The Light and the Challenge

In the blazing heat
the trees and grasses golden;
they are candleflame and firelight.

In the shimmering cold
the frogs and crickets amplify;
they are thunderclap and echo.

In the winding cave
the dripstone spikes lengthen
into mountain and valley

where the heat blinds and the cold paralyzes,
the climb and the cliff wear and scatter,
abandonment and fright surround;

I can not see, and yet I know
the living light that radiates within,
illuminates the cracks and begs me to begin.

“Any man who follows me will not be walking in the dark: he will have the light of life, says the Lord.” (John 8:12; Universalis)

A Prayer for Peacefulness

Lord God, you are All in All. You have blessed us immeasurably with life and spirit. Continue to bless us with selfless love that we may care for one another as you care for us, and in so doing wash away our fears of abandonment, hopelessness, and failure. May we love each other with your sacrificial love so that our homes become sanctuaries, for in these gardens of forgiveness our children will grow and change the world. May we love and forgive without reserve, and may all people receive your grace, absorbing it like rain on well-watered ground. Open our hearts that we may know you in the midst of our conflicts. Bless us with your spirit that we may know the comfort of your peace. Be with us as we live moment to moment that we may understand humility and meekness. With a grateful heart, we ask all these things through Christ who strengthens us.

Amen.

Autumn comes cleanly into my day.

Autumn comes cleanly into my day.
It has us wearing jackets
and opening windows, stacking books
and rearranging toys; it has us moving furniture
and wiping baseboards, walking to school
and praying in church.

The three little ones and I stop in at the sanctuary.
We are there with two women, mopping and dusting,
and we have our first practice sitting with God.
Jesus in the tabernacle; Jesus in our heart.
It lasts twenty seconds.
(Success!).

After nap we pop outside for swinging and soccer,
but the two youngest stoop beside our out-of-service flower-pot,
spying rain around the bottom, and dip their hands
in the dirt-flecked water.  Over and again:  “Amen.  A-men!” he says,
fingers touching forehead.  “Amen,” she smiles, crossing herself.
Christ comes cleanly into my day.