Tag Archives: Community

Jesus said, “I am.” – Mark 14:62

I AM who I AM,
known by what has been
and by the moments of here and now
and by the dreams of what can be,
may the multitude of I AMs we cry
join together into a chorus of WE ARE;
for once again our pronoun usage
focuses more on the me in ourselves
and threatens to unravel the careful
stitching of our ancestors through time
which brought us together intersecting
our pasts, our presents and our futures.
Amen.

Together

The question, When will I see you again?
becomes a doxology of sorts when
the lighting of candles is added to each
rise and fall of praise and of mourning.

Assemblies gather before deadlines
delayed again by postponed weather
arrangements conveniently called
out by experts in front of green screens.

Story and science blur into one myth
before the altar of truth in the long
history of human beings once again
having a difficult and dangerous time.

People cheer the completion of first drafts
with no sense for or need of resolution
that might be recorded in the shining annals 
of the impromptu history of humankind.

Vitality Preferred

Remember the play of civilization;
how people treat each other waiting
in a long, summer line for ice cream?

Be careful in the way you lean; someone 
behind you may be making smiley faces
at the little one you hold in your arms.

Does this gathering come about from
reading the message in the soda bottle
or from seeing a fortune unfold from a cookie?

The Help Wanted sign on a desert island
reads, "New Liberator position available.
No experience necessary.  Vitality preferred."

The questions, What should I want?
and, What do I want? refuse to bend
away from the one question they have become.

Tie Us All Together

While crushing garlic, 
I said, "God is not our genie."

She rinsed her hands.
"Either choose to spend 
time or spread time
across different spaces."

Taken aback, I said,
"That's the problem.
Passages for people
shorten perspective."

"Now you're just making 
fun of me," she smiled.

"Not true.  I am simply
prepping my strategy
for finding the best seat."

Taking up my challenge,
and with ease, she said,
"It doesn't have to take
so long, you know,
to tie us all together."

On either side of the river is the tree of life…  – Revelation 22:2

Maker of
pines and pin oaks,
burning bushes and the Joshua tree,
evergreens and the piñon,
who centers every tree
in our Garden of Creations;
gather roots around us,
intertwine each with the other,
so fruit of all flavors
drops like jewels
through grasping fingers
into open hands.
Amen.