The desert of desire

Often Jesus makes special reference to the goodness of poverty in the Gospels. He is near to the poor. He intentionally lives poverty in his 40 days in the desert, and is nomadic in his ministry. He says "Blessed are the poor." In contrast, I find, as a middle class, educated American, I am not …

My peace I give you

What hope can be found in the stillness Lord? I need the Spirit that moves That blows harder than these blasts And peace that is yet wilder than the storm

Distance

Our distance seems a metaphor Even if you were here What could bridge the great chasm Between one and the other Thank God our distance reminds me Even if you were here Only He is true Communion Who is closer than a brother

Another Lent

Every spring I crawl out of winter on my hands and knees Seasonal desolation draws me into the liturgy Of the great fast toward the hope of the Easter feast And after the spring he takes me into the summer heat The parched, dry desert where he speaks tenderly And never abandons me Soon Autumn …

On the Eucharist for JD

When I went to college I met people of many different Christian traditions, and I started to appreciate what I thought of as a gradient of teachings on Holy Communion, from the simple symbolic meal all the way to the real presence. My family was on one end of the spectrum and Catholics were on …

Substance and Substrates

This morning my mouth is drier than most Up on my palate you linger longer And I wonder When exactly does he unite to me? In my hand or on my tongue? When he is dissolved? Metabolized? Am I contemplating mystery or chemistry? Yet imperceptibly Between accidents and alpha-glucosidase, Substance and substrates He is gone …

Tax Collectors and Pagans

It seems to me that the laying of battle lines around the small differences between those who are the most similar can cause more strife than any argument with a true opponent. When I disagree with someone I disagree with, I choose my words carefully, attempt to avoid fallacies, anticipate how what I say may …

The Merchant

The kingdom is a treasure in a field. Oh to be he that that rich treasure finds! Who scours the earth for a pearl of great price Sells all he has, til the purchase is sealed. Still if I finally find this treasure, What could I sell? And would it be enough? I fear my …

Wintertime

A poem written while looking on the snow through the window of the train.

Behind the Title

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, he enables me to tread on the heights.