Who are the “less-fortunate”?

We pray from Thanksgiving through Advent into Christmas and also forward into the New Year and Epiphany for God to bless the “less-fortunate”.

I think we are all equally blessed, equally fortunate. The Creator has given us heaven and earth. Salvation through his Son. The watchful care of Spirit, the heavenly host, the great cloud of witnesses. But I also think we are equally tempted by our greatest vices. I think those who are rich are tempted with prosperity and those who are poor are tempted by poverty.

And who has the greatest temptation?

Out of their great need, the poor are more likely to reach out, reach up for help. They know that salvation is out of their grasp. They cannot save themselves. Cannot alone clamber out of the pit. The wealthy do not seek help. They believe they have saved themselves. Cannot see that they, too, are in the pit.

Our prayer is better said: “Please bless those whose temptations are heightened in this season of Your Greatest Gift. Please give to the “less-fortunate” the heart of a poor man to seek salvation and find Your Hand.”

My faith and the Bridge

A small rough hewn bridge spans a rushing creek in upper New Mexico. If I gather my courage and say aloud “I have faith in this bridge!” and stand on the bank what good is my faith? I am still on the side I want to abandon. I have two choices: faithfully cross the bridge and stand safely on the other side or plunge headlong into the torrent and attempt to save myself. If I plunge in, I am wet and cold and swept away. If I prove my faith I gain access to the other side. However, neither my faith merely spoken or my faith stongly proven saves me. It is always the bridge.

If I look very closely, I might see that the bridge, rough cut, wooden and scarred, is in the shape of a cross.

West Texas Symphony

A fuchsia boa
Stretches across shoulders
Of blue-orange sky
As Night waltzes with Day
Un-chaperoned.

Pelted by grit and chaff
From dying, sighing wind,
Mechanical Dinosaurs–
Continuous Metronomes–
Heads tethered:
Bobbing,
Legs Spinning:
Pumping,
Silently bringing to life
The Old Ones
Marking Time.

Staccato bark–mocked by Coyote
Electric pump (low bass) strains
To produce pizzicato mechanical Rain.

Melody of wind chimes–Harmony of Crickets,
Piccolo trill (Birds sailing home.)
Nature’s Lullaby…

The fuchsia boa slips from Day’s shoulders
Revealing diamonds.
And Night lays her down to sleep
In soft sand and star song
As the Dinosaurs mark time.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is day for Giving Thanks. It is a day to remember the courage of those pilgrims who were not tolerant about thier religious freedoms being taken away; a day to remember the sacrifices they made so that we might have freedom of religion; a day to renew our zeal about our own freedoms.

Intolerance is not an evil. Intolerance is what pushes us to do what is right when things are wrong. Intolerance drives pilgrims to the boats, to the landings, and to the tables where there can be ample Thanks given. Perhaps it is time to look for our own Plymouth Rock.

Forgiving is Giving For. As we search for the Plymouth Rocks to which we might fly to escape what is wrong in this place and time, we must always look to the Rock of our Salvation who has forgiven our shortcomings, our trespasses, our intolerance and our tolerance. He has Given For us the ultimate sacrifice as a pilgrim to our world.

For this we must give thanks.

A Found Poem from my first 13 posts…

A found poem is a poem made up of lines from literature or other poetry that are juxtaposed into lines and verses. The only thing that can be changed is the punctuation. I took one line from each of my former posts and tried to line them up in a poem…It is just something fun…

In an ironic twist of fate
Thunder shouts once more
There is only one thing you lack:
Dissonant chords.

Girls on their bikes
Hallowed victors
Throw light, cast shadow
Out of my heart and onto a page.

Western light sinks deep behind the trees
Zenith of greatness, not forgotten
It has been a nice day.
Light a candle in the steady wind.

Haiku Storm

Cotton stalks clicking
Pickup kicks up cloud of dust,
Lightning tap-dancing

Thunder starts applause,
Rhythm rain batters tin roof,
Fire Crackles inside

Sun peeks through curtain
Thunder whispers approval
Of Nature’s cleansing

Thunder shouts once more–
Calls leader of cloud stampede
To greener pastures.

3 Rich Men

Luke chapters 18 amd 19 tell three successive stories about three rich men: the rich young ruler, Zaccheus and a man who went on a journey to receive a kingdom.

The rich young ruler is obviously dependent on his wealth, his youth and his authority. In his own words, he has kept the law since his youth and now seeks affirmation from Jesus. He asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” as if there is nothing left to be done. He has all the bases covered. Jesus says, “There is one thing you lack….”

Zaccheus is in a similar state: rich, successful, authoritative, poiltically aligned with Rome (a tax collector) and religiously aligned with Israel. But he knows a Savior when he sees one. He goes to quite some effort to see him, obeys his command, offers hospitality and confesses his sin with a brash attempt at recompense. Jesus says, “Salvation has come to your house today.”

One man trying to save himself; one man who knows his need of a Savior.

Jesus follows these two encounters with a parable. A rich man goes on a journey to receive a kingdom. (Jesus, himself?) He leaves his slaves some money with which to do business. The slaves who trust the master work and earn and see the money grow. The slave who does not trust the master hides and hordes the money. When the master returns he asks for the money back. The slaves who trusted the master simply gave the money back without question–even the excess they had earned for the master. The slave who did not trust gave the money back along with insults, excuses and accusations. The slaves who trusted, did not get any money back. Instead they received freedom and power to rule over great cities. The slave who mistrusted, received nothing.

Jesus said it was impossible for the rich to be saved. They trust in themselves.
The apostles were probalby amazed and a little horified. The rich had it made! And they asked “Then who can be saved?” Jesus said that what is impossible with men (salvation) is possible with God. God who is rich in mercy lavishes it on us.

Richly!