Tag Archives: God

A Song for Christ-Everywhere

He is not separate from the baby
nor far from the man,

not separate from the child
nor far from the woman,

not separate from the giver
nor far from the thief,

not separate from the faithful
nor far from the doubting,

not separate from the penitent,
nor far from the prideful.

He is all in all.  Emmanuel.

He never retreats,
but always chases.

I catch him looking at me through my little ones’ eyes,
the browns, blues, greens.

He lives in each of us, in all of our humanity.
The birth of God on earth –
the sanctification of our humanity, our daily life –
makes us capable of holiness,
for God is all in all.

“I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”  (John 17:26)  

 

We Stop Beneath the Buckeye Tree

The seed pod dropped on the sidewalk and split.
I see the ruddy shine through a slit
in the spiked orb and wonder at its depth
of color, the certain slant of light spent
on its creation and its becoming.

I hold the sharp husk gingerly between
my fingers and thumb and wonder at the satisfaction
in prying apart the halves, the silken rip at the pith.  Notions
of Autumn’s approach, the colored leaves, the drying bits
of grass and flower are upon me.  The death and dormancy that fit

beneath the harvest ground conceal a greater thing:
Latent energy bursting into fullness, our God blossoming
into the son of man ripening into the fullness of his mystery.
I am tempted to hold fast the shells and face
the blank wall, keep myself hidden within the pointed case

and find my way to fullness turned inward.  Yet I strain
against the covering, press into the exterior a plain
and arching back.  I drop against the ground and split
to see a shining depth of light in which
death and birth work together.

Falling away from self I rise in Christ
loving and being loved in turn, this daily practice
our cross and joy.  We tear away the ruined husk
and reveal a softer fruit, one that trusts
in a fertile ground, this nature in the city, this spirit in the flesh,

this cyclical forgiveness.

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.