Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
And kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit
And you will renew the face of the earth. Amen.
Certainly not original…just on my mind and in my heart this week.
Tag: Devotion
Living Stone – The Incarnation
You sat there throughout eternity –
You never “were not”;
You always “have been”;
You forever “will be”.
And to eyes shaped by the ever changing seasons of Creation and living
You seemed to me to be that which always held fast,
stayed firm,
never moved.
This image of You gave me something solid upon which to place
my fleeting thoughts and ever changing life.
And the earth moved.
Or the heavens shook the earth.
(I cannot know which…)
And the Eternal chose to inhabit a shell destined for decay.
You – You walked upon the earth –
a living stone among dying people.
And the earth shook.
Or the heavens moved.
(I can know this – the Stone Lived.)
I cannot know how or why but I can know this:
The immortal took on life
To give to the dying ones like me
Hope of life that does not end – the life of living stone.
My prayer is this:
Let me be changing, beating, breaking, grieving, moving, laughing, Living.
Let me have the hope of the unmoved, unchanged, eternal, forever, Stone.
The Trap
There is a trap that waits –
waits to spring its gnarled teeth out of the hearts
of those who choose to love –
choose to love, despite:
differences,
appearances,
thoughts,
and actions.
It’s teeth are those that gnash and lash
at those whose heart is already tangled
in knots,
in thoughts,
in endless, water-falling false hopes
of being right above all else.
The trap waits for all who choose the way of Jesus…
Lover of all…
Lover of those who follow…
Lover of those who fail…
Lover of those who get up again and again to love…
Lover of those of other flocks…
even the Lover of those caught in the knots, the thoughts,
the false hope of holiness on their own.
The way of love, love above all else
releases the trap with a harmless snap.
Yet drops upon the shoulders
the weight,
the heft,
the feel,
of a cross.
© 2014 Scott Sears
Served Two Ways
I can see righteousness…
in those who claim to do no wrong…
who hold the commandments
for all to see.
Who work without ceasing to have them posted
on walls
in courts
on public ground.
Who stand beside the written word of God
And silence the voices
Of women…of those perceived as created unequal…
Who silence the voices of the very ones who listen to the Word
but choose to bow to the Author, not the reader.
And I see righteousness…
In those who stand beside:
the one about to die for crimes…
the couple whose love is shunned…
the homeless one whose whole buggy-bound world
cannot be found in this world at all…
the one who is dying while holding the hand of her
crying, angry child…
their husband of sixty-five years
and steal a kiss in public…
no one in particular, but who stand:
in love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness
and self-control.
I see righteousness served two ways:
From the hubris that is potently human;
And from the very Spirit of Jesus
that lives within.
For more please see Romans 6:8-11
Stitches
Occasionally,
there are things that cut so deep
my body is in need of the healing power of stitches.
A knife slips while slicing onions,
and my watery eyes do not take note
of the quick movement
towards the taut, stretched skin of my finger.
[Shouted…] “Crap!”
Off to the healers for stiches.
Occasionally, words cut…
cut through the roughness and toughness
of my calloused exterior.
They find their way – these cutting, ripping words –
to a place deep inside
slipping inside my psyche
twisting in the depths of my soul.
A tongue slips during a time of greeting
to lodge an “observation”
about sloppiness and lack of attention
to detail.
That tongue slices through
my taunt, stretched smile
and lays bare the nerves that lie deep within.
Blood collects on my own bitten tongue
[Unspoken…] “Crap!”]
Off to the healers…for stitches.
“Thank you for offering kind words to my friend…”
“Thank you for checking on us and caring for us…”
“Thank you for sharing your story…”
“It’s nice to know we have a pastor who truly is human…”
“I love you, Daddy.”
©2014, Scott Sears
Inspired by www.pray-as-you-go.org and John 5:1-3, 5-16 (NRSVA)
Not Quite Home 