Lent-Day 7

As I opened the letter

my heart skipped a beat

I'd seen who it was from

I started to read

Congratulations, it said, as the letter began

you are accepted, my very good man

we'd like you to come to our part of the land

and join our seminary family

the news was expected

I'd hoped for as much

but I felt such a touch of

excitement and purpose as I scanned through that letter.

and then

were those tears in my eyes as I folded it up and put it away?

or had that cold blast of wind

caught me at that very moment

to make my eyes water?

Lent-Day 6

There's a phrase in writing

we call it the "pregnant pause"

that moment before the excitement begins

the anticipation sinking in

one can sense the building suspense

as no one knows when the pause will end

so tick tick you watch the clock

as time keeps marching onward

you try to hide and keep inside your heart

(but it pounds away like the Pacific on the ocean sands)

when will it stop? how will it end?

the pregnant pause it lingers

i think it waits until it wraps each person round its finger.

but what if the pause is held too long?

you start to wonder if something went wrong

the action was coming

the moment was near

why did the build-up disappear?

and you wind up in the place you have always feared

paused without direction.

Lent-Day 5

Promises

What's a word worth?

garbage, really

we throw them out

with candy wrappers and old tires

meaningless

in the magnitude of our

oh-so-important lives

we toss them around

careless as to their power

to heal

to resurrect

to hurt

to kill

words have an ability

we never quite believe

the substance they carry

is something we just can't see

but one's word is

dedication

faithfulness

integrity

they measure a person

some words remain.

as do those that speak them.

some promises are still unbroken.

"I will never forsake you."

Lent-Day 4

I'm searching for signs

as I'm writing my rhymes

spending valuable time

seeking the divine

I find Him sometimes not where I'd think

in places where righteous ones dare not to sink

in bars

in gutters

with backpacks and shopping carts full of

granola bars and clutter

most would deem dirty.

yesterday I saw Her right where I expected

drifting low on a cloud over the Pacific

light radiating forth in beams no darkness could overcome

I stopped for a moment to whisper hello.

weeks go by

and I'm still searching

wrapped up in pursuit of that wholly divine

The search will continue

until my hair turns gray and the lines on my face

grow deeper

somehow, wiser

knowing that no matter how long I search

answers will forever elude me.

Lent-Day 3

Last night

the house shook

the rain battering the roof

a chorus of pebbles on the shingles

the windows bowing in and out

as my reflection grows and shrinks

grows and shrinks

the wind finds instruments in the

crevices of the house

maracas in the bathroom fan

a low mournful note over the exhaust pipe

soft hissing through the window screen

the song of the storm isn't scary

its notes and rhythm guide me to sleep

held in the arms of something more powerful

stronger than I can know or comprehend

held in the presence

buoyed by the Spirit

small.

tiny.

beloved.

Lent-Day 2

The day is coming

the spring of the soul

the day when the world

wakes up

reborn

anew

the day when things return

to the way they ought to be

to shalom

it will be a day of peace

justice harmony

a day when we no longer recognize separations

but see ourselves as the interconnected web

that we are

that day is coming

like the lightning breaking forth from the

darkness of thunder clouds

it shall come

hope

caught in a burst of light.

Lent-Day 1

What is brokenness?

Brokenness is temporary

a short term short sighted problem

that will be reconciled

what is wrong will become right

dreams shattered in the darkness of despair

will be reconstructed piece by piece

like a mirror holding the image of who we really are

what is brokenness?

brokenness is the doubt in each of our heads and hearts

that says we aren't good enough

strong enough

smart enough

to make a difference.

brokenness is the disbelief that we are

created

beloved

children of God

made exactly who we are.

for purpose

brokenness is a separation from purpose

our purpose

God's purpose.

That purpose is reconciliation.

The darkness is greatest before the dawn.

But daylight is coming.

Lent

Lent

Sacrifice

What to give up?

Take on?

In the season of fasting

what is my fast?

what is my gift?

Am I willing to risk

what comes first to mind?

The things that take up too much time

too many hours

stretching into days

patterns and behaviors

departures from sacred ways

40 days of discipline

am I up to the task?

I've never tried before

Never had this cross on my forehead before

but I feel called

I may not succeed

but I will try.

Today begins Lent, and as I sat in church today at the noontime service, for the first time I felt led to think about what I would do differently in Lent this year. Past years, I haven't done anything...it was never a tradition for me growing up, and I just never really got on board. But today, I sat there, thinking through things I could do differently...and while lots of people give things up for Lent, the idea of sacrifice, I like more the idea of adopting a new discipline or practice. I waste many of my mornings, and I've written on this blog just twice since my YAV year ended. I've written very little in terms of poetry that I haven't written on the blog, and I said to myself, "You need to write more. It was important to you."

So I'm going to write each of the next 40 days. Good, bad, ugly, I want to turn my writing into a discipline of sorts...expressing myself as I can. Some days I may read lenten texts or devotionals to reflect on, others I may just write what is on my mind. But for 40 days, I am going to write.

A Poem in Defense

it's a trend these days

it seems all the rage

to bash on the church

and her religious ways

give me jesus not religion

the trendy they clamor

but jesus said the church was his bride

so put your hand over your mouth

and pull that log out of your eye

if the church is Jesus' bride

don't you think you should try to

help it

shape it

instead of betraying it?

sure she's got her issues

I don't deny that

it's a true fact

that her pews and aisles are jam-packed

with hypocrites

liars.

impure hearts and

idolaters.

But isn't that exactly where they (we) need to be?

so maybe mother church,

"religion" if you will

seems washed up and over the hill

to young people, like you and me

we don't want to deal with that kind of hypocrisy

when really all we want is community

and freedom to help others in tune with our beliefs.

So you say mother church isn't meeting your needs

well change it.

I dare you.

Make it real.

relevant.

revelatory.

rampant.

resurrective.

reconciliatory.

rambunctious.

revolutionary.

you. me.

we are the church.

we.