Maundy Thursday

That righteous Lord who sent the Flood
To wash the whole earth clean
From sinful men now kneels, towel-wrapped,
Head bowed to wash their feet

That first deluge he sent had showed
The penalty for sin
This second brings its remedy
By cleansing from within

For as his laver washes skin
His word has cleansed their souls;
The blood he soon will shed shall then
Atone for them in whole.

A blessed Maundy Thursday to all.

Humility (a Poem for Good Friday)

References:

Matthew 27 (& etc.)

Peri Pascha (by Melito of Sardis)

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The One who set the stars in place Himself is set with nails
He, mercilessly mocked and scorned, whose mercy never fails
Those hands which span the heavens and guide galaxies in course
Now stretched out on a cross of wood, must strain, each breath to force
As He who hung the moon and sun is hung beneath their gaze
The Radiance of the Father's glory, flogged in place of praise

That Word whose pow'r sustains existence answered none at all
To those who lied to see Him tried, condemned without a fault
A crown of thorns and nakedness adorn the King of kings
The End of all true sacrifice giv'n up as Offering
How dark becomes the sky above this scorning of the Light--
The Lord of Hosts arrested, tortured, here without a fight!

What greater darkness shows within the heart and soul and mind
Of men, who work thus to destroy the Maker of mankind!
What fickle and ungrateful crowd, so readily deceived
To render thus the breath He gave: "Let Him be crucified!"
So that at their behest the Judge of all mankind received
The judgement of mankind and died.

"The Table that the Lord Prepares..."

"The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want...

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." (Psalm 23:1, 5)

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." (John 10:11)

"And [Jesus] took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!'" (Luke 22:19-22)

"So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them." (John 19:16b-18)

"...and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies..." (Genesis 22:17b)

"I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades." (Revelation 1:18b)

"For you have delivered my soul from death,

my eyes from tears,

my feet from stumbling;

I will walk before the LORD

in the land of the living." (Psalm 116:8-9)

"Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent." (John 17:3)

The table that the Lord prepares for his people is set with the feast of his own flesh and blood, in the face of sin, death, and hell, the enemies whose gates he, as the Son of Man, has now taken as a man for the sake of mankind, so that his people might feed without fear and thus be delivered from the power of those enemies and walk before him "in the land of the living," which is his own eternal life -- which is the knowledge and experience of Himself.

O Great Conqueror

O great Conqueror of sin and death, O Ravager of hell,
What You've done on cosmic scale do likewise to my will:
War against the passions of my flesh and mind until,
Conquering, Your victory extends through me, as well.

Liberator of the captives, Who gave sight unto the blind,
Free me from the lust of flesh and eyes, from boastful pride
Turn my gaze from worthless things to Your pierced hands and side;
Captivate the vision of my heart, my soul, my mind.

O Eternal Word, upholding all creation by Your pow'r,
Righteous Law who rightly orders galaxies above,
Likewise order my life in accordance with Your love
Speak Yourself in me, uphold my soul in faith each hour.

Imprint of the Father's nature, all His glory's Radiance
What You are in essence come and make of me by grace
Dwell in me, make all my body, heart, and mind the place
Where Your name and glory shine in their full brilliance.

Logic of the cosmos, Ground and Goal of each created thing,
Reason for whom all exist, come ground my life in you
Be the wisdom ruling all I want and think and do.
Lord of all, be Lord of me: my End, my God, my King.

Kenosis (a poem for Easter weekend)

Matthew 27:1-54
Jeremiah 2:13, 17:13
Isaiah 43:11, 20-25; 53:6
Hebrews 2:14-17; 13:12
Psalm 24:7-10
1 Peter 4:6
Romans 14:9

"Kenosis"

To th'place of broken cisterns he descends
and there to match them his own vessel rends
or lets them rend -- the Fountain, thus to give
from his own side the draught we need to live.
--Water in the wilds, and desert streams!
The ostriches and jackals he redeems
shall honor him, although the sheep have strayed,
and on him their iniquity is laid.
Alone he blots transgressions out, the LORD,
the only Savior, everlasting Word
of Life, now written in the earth with those
who turned away, forsook his name, for whose
lives he gives up his own. But now Death is
no more the last word written here in this
or any lower place-- "Lift up your heads,
O gates! O ancient doors, be opened wide!"
Eternal Life has come down for the dead,
the King of Glory for those who reside
in darkness and death's shadow, who were lost
to dissolution, separation. Death,
the Lord of Hosts has come to claim your host
as well; your reign has ended with his breath.

Palm Sunday (a Poem)

Matthew 21:1-11, Zechariah 9:9, Colossians 1:15-20, Psalm 62, Psalm 68:32-33, Isaiah 11, Luke 1:51-52, John 1:16, Ephesians 3:19

The King arrives, but on a colt
Has he no image to uphold?
He rides in on a donkey's foal
Is exaltation not his goal?

Yet thus are prophecies fulfilled
In him who spoke and waters stilled
And that same breath here bears more weight
Than all the lowly and the great

In th'balances they rise as one
Like feathers, weighed against the Son
Of God and Man, in whom the high
And low both find their archetype

Hosannas from the common rise
To him whose way was in the skies
But now is on a burden-beast
Identifying with the least

As with Balaam an ass has been
Exalted over lords of men
For this one bore such weight alone
Of glory as will crush each throne

Of worldy kings, and make them mules
Their robes the frippery of fools
Against Eternity enfleshed
Accepting praise thus poorly dressed.

See how the mighty are brought down!
How all the humble, from the ground,
Are raised up by the Lord who rides
In meekness, though in him resides

All majesty, dominion, pow'r,
Authority, while in this hour
Abasement is his exaltation
Th'ensign raised for ev'ry nation

Glorious shall be his rest
Who makes his glory manifest
In lowliness, on donkey's back
His fullness giving for our lack.

Reason for Created Sight

Thank You, Lord, for sunsets: rose-impressioned skies
Thank You for Your grace: Your loving presence in our lives
One day we shall see Your face, with wholly unveiled eyes
That uncreated Beauty, reason for created sight.

Anxiety

Lord, since all eternity
And time are in Your hand
Let my only worry be
To do as You command.

And since Your holy Word contains
All I could need or pray
Only this concern remains:
To listen, and obey.

You Make a Mockery of Ev'ry Boundary

You make a mockery

Of ev'ry boundary,

Eternal Life, Who stole our death

To plunder grave and hell,

Almighty God, Who as a Man

Did deign with us to dwell

Here making light of sufferings

And burdens we did own

Though not by jeering, but Your strength

In bearing every one.

Not death alone, but also sin --

First cause of ev'ry grief --

You carried off upon Your back

And brought us back relief.

Inverting poverty and wealth

To meet the debt accrued,

Becoming as we are, a slave

You paid what we owed You

As, turning barriers to doors,

Incarnate, dying, You

Made of divided natures one,

Partitions tore in two.

In furthest exile, shaming all

The distances we'd run,

You met us there, Who are our Home:

All banishment undone.

Your rising made of death a joke --

As well, mortality

Ascended to make all Your own

Share Your divinity

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Condescension (A Poem)

Majesty in lowliness revealed:
All our hope
For we had been brought low

Divinity in mortal flesh concealed
Which otherwise
Would blind our frail eyes

The law of written ordinance repealed
That we might live
Who had been held captive

Redemption by His crucifixion sealed
With His own blood --
Our greatest sin inverted to our good.

That Not One Should Perish

   “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."
     ~Matthew 18:10-14 (ESV)

   Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
   Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
     ~John 20:24-29 (ESV)

As I was reading the above passage from Matthew recently,

Justice (A Poem)

"With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
   with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
with the purified you show yourself pure;
   and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
For you save a humble people,
   but the haughty eyes you bring down." ~Psalm 18:25-27

Justice

By Truth wrapped in mortality
The Deceiver was deceived, and bold
To kill God's Son

But missing the Divinity,
Death swallowed what it could not hold
And was undone.

Longsuffering

Matthew 18:21-35, Galatians 5:22-23

My God, there is no patience left in me But some in You there still must be For You have not yet slaughtered me. Though I -- who am so unforgiving, still And hard-hearted, against Your will -- Find all my impulse is to kill And crush these wretched fools for whom You died To save and raise them to reside With You, and in Your love abide. While I, o’er whom that love should hold all sway Would sooner follow my own way In rage, to make offenders pay As though Your sacrifice were not enough: God satisfied, shall I rebuff Forgiveness I, too, have need of? And having been by You forgiven all Shall I now for full payment call From my fellows? Oh God, forestall My folly! Am I not but one of them-- A fool in need of grace? So then, Why am I so impatient when All the mercy that they need Is no more than You've given me?

Matthew 10:8 

(In)Sufficiency

This life of love, it is so hard consistently to live
(But not, my Lord, for You)
[While You, from all eternity]

To all of myself selflessly at ev'ry moment give
(Who bore even the cross)
[Exist as selfless, out-poured Gift]

And in my finite imperfection so much falls between the cracks.
(To make all things anew)
[And now Your love, to heal our rift]

Have mercy, Lord of love: Let Your perfections make up for my lacks.
(Redeeming ev'ry loss.)
[Has made Your Spirit dwell in me.]

O Wake Your Eyes

O Wake your eyes, to drink the light
With vision deeper than mere sight
That sees the love in fire furled
Unrolled in beams that light the world
And more: your soul, if you can see
Through them the God from whom proceed
All good and perfect gifts, whose Word
Sustains all light and life, toward
Which we should ever gaze, until
Our lives conform to all His will.

So wake your heart, to drink like wine
In light the gift of Love Divine
Who gives and undergirds all things
Whose flesh is food, whose blood true drink:
The bread of new, unending life
To raise the dead beyond all strife;
A tonic to heal ev'ry wound
In which sin's poison can be found.

O wake your soul, to drink this Light
Until it all in you abide
In all Its uncreated bright-
ness. Not all those with eyes have sight,
But if you're one with ears to hear
Then wake your eyes, and drink, my Dear.

Temples (A Poem, Regarding Beauty and Worth)

(Dedicated to all of my brothers and, especially, sisters in Christ.)

"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, whom you have from God?" 
~1 Corinthians 6:19

Temples

Every single part of you

-- not only soul, but body, too --

is Sacred Temple, Holy Ground:

the Garden in which Christ is found

walking, and there He is met

in outward form and lineament.

In your smile Love Himself is seen,

with pow'r to heal, grace to redeem,

and in your laughter, free, unfurled

rings the Delight that made the world

and makes it still. Beauty Himself

dwells in you, making all your self

a well of that Uncreate Spring

which lesser beauties mean, and sing.

And for this dying world, Life treads

loudly enough to wake the dead

in your footsteps, and in your hands

is th' touch of mercy He commands.

No Israelite would curse the place

where God chose to reveal His face

nor scorn the arches, pillars, stones

which God had chosen as His own.

Curse not, then, yours, where Christ is found,

for all of you is Holy Ground.

A Willing Quill (A Sonnet)

A Willing Quill


Since Thou hast made it all Thy work and art
to write “Redemption” here in ev’ry part
of all Creation, which Thy Word hast made --
each story inkéd in Thine own Son's blood,
which lettering can neither fail nor fade --
and since Thine hands unfailingly can use
as many pens at once as Thou shalt choose,
Lord, let me also be a willing quill,
and dip and fill me in that crimson flood
to write with my life as Thy nib, until
it’s spent. For what more glory can there be
Than that Thou shouldst take up and write again
(though it include all His rejection, pain,
and tomb) Thine own Son’s story, but with me.



Amen.

Jesus is Everything (Good Friday/Easter Thoughts)

   Jesus Christ is both the sinner's repentance and the Father's forgiveness, both the Sacrifice for sin and the Priest who offers it, in the Temple of His own body -- the place where YHWH has made His Name to dwell -- in which the curtain separating mankind from God has truly been torn in two. For He Himself is both fully God and fully Man, the two natures united without confusion, distinct without separation, both in all their perfect fullness joined together in the one Person of Christ -- and thus has He become the one Mediator between God and Man, for Jesus Himself is both.

Prayers (A Series) Part 1: Invocation

   Scripture, like theology, is not meant only to be read or memorized, but to be lived. And because it is meant to be lived, at every moment, in every part of our internal and external lives, with every part of our being, it is also meant to be prayed. This is one of the best, most useful, and most beautiful things which I was taught in seminary: To pray the Scriptures, offering back to God the words He has given us -- and thereby becoming united in that offering to the Word and will of the One Who spoke them first. For, "this is the confidence that we have toward [God], that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him" (1 John 5:14-15). And of course, we know God's will most clearly through the revelation given in Scripture.

Divine Simplicity

"O LORD, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works."
   ~Isaiah 26:12

Because the Unreachable has Himself reached out, and the Unknowable has made Himself known, and the Creator has clothed Himself in creation, for, "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). And in that glory, we have seen,

The Transcendent Is the Immanent The Greatness Is the Goodness The Majesty Is the Humility The Authority Is the Submission The Holiness Is the Sacrifice The Fire Is the Water The Truth Is the Wisdom The Exalted Is the Condescension The Justice Is the Mercy The Wrath Is the Love

that cannot be found that cannot be escaped. that deserves gifts that gives. that requires service that serves. that commands that obeys. that demands sanctity that sanctifies. that destroys the unclean that washes perfectly. that must be understood that understands. that cannot be reached that raises up. that requires payment that pays. that condemns Who saves.

                                             -- And There Is No Division

For, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4), and, although He is Three Persons in One God, He is never divided into parts, and there is no war within Him. Hallelujah, and Amen!