Already I see gloating
and glee that death
has won a battle.
Already I see response,
rallying for against enemies
perceived to be flesh and blood.
Already I feel desperate
to remind myself that victory
over gloating and rallying
and death
is only in gathering
around a cross
and somehow believing
it is deliverance.
Alleluia!
The Resurrection of God-come-to-as-us-one-of-us–
Jesus!–
can only be
the Declaration:
no one else has to die–
not
one–
to right the world,
humanity is healed,
true Light will always
scatter the darkness,
the Proclamation:
self-preservation is wholly unnecessary because the Holy One
never saw corruption,
entrusting instead of defending,
the Announcement:
there is no King but Christ,
making many nations one
multi-lingual people of Redemption, answering to no State
but Love,
in Word, Spirit, Divinity,
the Hope:
humanity destined
for divination,
Creation-cosmos, restored at last!
Angels sing with
Sons of Adam
and Daughters of Eve,
–as we weep from relief,
falling into the eternal rest
of mercy and grace–
Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God!
To know you and
to be known
by you
is to find you
All in All,
forever and without end.
Alleluia!
The Texas country
Can be a pressure valve
On the crucible of the Phoenix city
For those that make the trip
No less teeming with life
Organic more than mechanical
Electric less than infused with fossil fuels.
Wide spaces
Fresh air
Black shade
Considerate drivers.
Older ways, well trodden
And slow.
Return from your sin.
Be faithful to the Gospel.
And remember
from dust
you came and
to dust
you will return.
Words that–when spoken along
with the imposition of oily ashes
crossed
on my dirty forehead
and the body and blood of Jesus
the Christ that washes me white–
remind of mercy and grace
and love.
This poem for Ash Wednesday was originally published on February 14, 2013
We are called to pour out ourselves
for the lost and forgotten,
the broken and the marred.
That is what Christ did for us.
Although it is not something
we accomplish by our own strength,
he graciously enables us
through his Spirit
to take part in the redemption
of all creation.
We live in the already-but-not-yet,
but God’s Kingdom is coming,
and the Body of Christ is the vessel
that will usher in a new era.
Our actions become prophetic utterance,
reflecting, enacting, anticipating the second, final
coming of our Lord
to rule the world.
