A Positively Poetic Priest

the spark electricity firing neurons causing thought propelling motion into speech open hearts open minds with love between the same words spoken in conjunction I love you 1/23/18

O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (The Last Sunday after Epiphany BCP 217) “Life is this simple: we are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and the divine is shining through it all the time. This is not just a nice story or a fable, it is true." Thomas Merton This coming Sunday we can catch a glimpse of the magnificence and glory which is really true in this world. Each year, on the last Sunday after Epiphany and before Ash Wednesday, we are shown Jesus in true splendor on top of the mountain, shining for all the world to see. Before the valley of shadows that can be the season of Lent, we are given this glimmer of what is t...

God willing when I lie shadowed in the dark night amidst the spirits fly head on into the light success is truly mine waiting across the                                    line        broken verses                                 broken lies  truth mirrored                            success denied       love burst through                                         ending pattern                                                   foresight mine         ...

O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing; Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany BCP 216) "For the fourth year in a row, the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organization that tracks hate groups, reports that hate and domestic extremism are rising in an unabated trend. The center found a 30 percent increase in U.S. hate groups over the past four years and a 7 percent increase in hate groups in 2018 alone, according to the center's annual "Year in Hate and Extremism" report. The group designated 1,020 organizations as hate groups in 2018, a high of at least 20 years." (https://www.npr.org/2019/02/20/69...

O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany BCP 216) The collect for this coming Sunday is meant to remind us that without God's grace, we cannot do anything good in our lives. All goodness, all kindness, all love, flows from God to and through us. You've heard the saying, "We love because He first loved us." Christians throughout the ages have relied on God's grace and love in order to follow Jesus' commandments to love others, love themselves, and love God. It is one of those theological mysteries which take pondering to understand how what inside of us that wants to do good and to love others is ...

what would I give to stop the flow                                the                                drip                                the                               loss                                 of life                                 of                                love                                 of         ...

Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany BCP 216) Life in God is marked by many different things. Community worship, contemplative prayer, care for others, especially those in need, care of the world and God's creation, are all ways in which we can recognize the life of God in others. Another way we can recognize God's presence in the life of another is by their focus on abundance, instead of scarcity. Scarcity is a threat in our lives. The fear of scarcity works in very subversive and detrimental ways in our society. We may not even always see it as it happens, but scarcity permeates our needs to save up, whether it is saving things, clothes, food, or money, and not share with others. Having an attitude of abundance allow...

wrapped in ragged cotton used to be some mother's pride a shirt, a second pair of shoes concealed as precious treasure what would you carry with you no home to lay your head jewels or tools, art or comforts all you could manage in a bag consider well the proposition we are all homeless in our beds waiting for life's greatest venture to take us home for eternal rest 1/5/18