Children

"And a Little Child Shall Lead Them" by Ken Hesler

To A Child

The greatest poem ever known
Is one all poets have outgrown:
The poetry, innate, untold,
Of being only four years old.

Still young enough to be a part
Of Nature's great impulsive heart,
Born comrade of bird, beast, and tree
And unselfconscious as the bee-

And yet with lovely reason skilled
Each day new paradise to build;
Elate explorer of each sense,
Without dismay, without pretense!

In your unstained transparent eyes
There is no conscience, no surprise:
Life's queer conundrums you accept,
Your strange divinity still kept.

Being, that now absorbs you, all
Harmonious, unit, integral,
Will shred into perplexing bits,-
Oh, contradictions of the wits!

And Life, that sets all things in rhyme,
may make you poet, too, in time-
But there were days, O tender elf,
When you were Poetry itself!

Christopher Morley 

Nonviolence

For the past twelve years I have been studying Nonviolent Communication.  My first workshop was with Miki Kashtan who has recently published a visionary book on this subject--Spinning Threads of Radical Aliveness: Transcending the Legacy of Separation in Our Individual Lives.
It strikes me that Palm Sunday was a lovely and memorable example of nonviolence.  Jesus led his followers into the center of worldly power riding on a young colt or an ass.  His action boldly communicated that he claimed to be a king of peace (Zechariah 9:9). The consequences of this peaceful action were certainly clear to him.  Nonviolence takes a tremendous amount of courage.  Speak truth peacefully today!

Words and Creation

The power of the word: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1)
About a month ago I gave a little wood-burned word to a person who was struggling.  How could I have known how much it would mean to them?  Never did I think that they would carry it every day from then until now. It humbles me at the same time as I remember the many words I have spoken in life which were meant to hurt.  If my need for verbal temperance is a common need, it's no wonder there are hundreds of verses in the Bible about bridling our tongues and guarding our mouths. Following is an excerpt from my manuscript The Heavenly Body:

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart

bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man

out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth

that which is evil:  for of the abundance of the heart

his mouth speaketh.

Luke 6:45

 What is a repeated theme for me when I am talking?  What does this tell me about my values?

Sacred Sex

"The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt

Have you ever thought that romantic love was just not beautiful enough when you watch movies from Hollywood?  Have you ever wondered what the Bible has to say about sex?  Take a look at the Song of Solomon (just after Ecclesiastes and before Isaiah).  What a book! Here is how it starts "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine" Song of Solomon Ch. 1, v. 2).  If you're thinking of getting married, or have already done that, inspire yourself with the poetry of sacred physical connection as found in the Bible; and "many waters...(will not) quench (your) love" Song of Solomon Ch. 8, v.7a.

Well-being

Because he (the hypocrite) knows no quietness

in his belly, he will not save anything he desires,

Nothing is left for him to eat; Therefore his well-being

will not last.  In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress.

Job 20: 20-21a

If my belly knows no quiet and no calmness, perhaps I might consider the cause of the distress.  Today how am I willing to lessen the stress by adjusting my habit of self-sufficiency?

Gentle Spring Rain

Behold, God is great, and we know him not, 

neither can the number of his years be searched out.

for he maketh small the drops of water:

they pour down rain according to the vapor thereof;

which the clouds do drop

and distill upon man abundantly.

Job 36:26-27

In high school my history teacher Janet Eisendrath taught the Book of Job as literature.  I have always cherished the way she opened a world of beauty and meaning to us with that class; and I have approached the Bible in very much the same way that she taught ever since.  This verse from Job enhances my experience of today's Spring rain.

Dedication and Obedience

Maria Kutschera of Salzberg wanted nothing more than to serve God by spending her whole life as a nun in a very strict convent.  God, however, had another idea. When Captain Von Trapp asked Maria to marry him, she ran to the convent hoping to be readmitted there.  The nuns answered her by saying that God wanted her to marry the Captain; and she must obey. Today my daughter and I are at the Von Trapp Family Lodge in Vermont, enjoying the story of Maria and her faith.