Some hopeful laments…

“No signs no prophets are left. Psalm 74:9
“A famine of hearing the word of God has come.” Micah
“God will send a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.” Amos

Not on my watch. If He is desirous and willing, i will speak.
God usually speaks in word or vision, but uniquely to each of us. I hear Him constantly, and am willing to share what I hear. I am an idiot, so i know many others do the same.

We are given no signs from God;
no prophets are left,
and none of us knows how long this will be. Psalm 74:9

Now, there is a space for transformation, and spiritual growth!! That internal vacancy is a calling, as all wildernesses are. The vacuous becomes a space of hungry encounter. The dry ground bears the living shoot. The rock produces water…and, eventually, fruit!!!

A sky poem in progress….as we all are, i suppose. (Poetry in Winter makes sense and helps us all along…)

Our names, were already whispered by the Sky!

What do you think dear
should we fear the falling stars of now, the political crises crescendoing hourly, instantly rising and falling, frictioning
and fictioning in and out of time… or reach towards another type of timeless Star, latch onto to this one particular One and live there forever or,
until morning comes from afar.
At least,
Like the wise men, we must look up to know;
until the glow finds us finally laughing back at it, we hook up to know here, tonight,
the falling snow and, us waiting (one or the other, and sometimes both) breaks the fire from our bones, and breaks us, into fire; and all our fears, year after year
Melt into a face, like fireworks, which we already know.
Our names were already whispered here
Written now in snow…
and we are just sky writing here
or watchers, gazing upwards through snow at stars
we already are…
we are tethered on a higher star than today’s
friend. We must lasso that Star to aid these falling ones…
at least we can do that while staring at the skies tonight.
My forever Love. For, our names have already been
Whispered tonight, and clearly written in Snow.
So we know.

Our names, were already whispered by the Sky!

What do you think dear
should we fear the falling stars of now, the political crises crescendoing hourly, instantly rising and falling… or reach towards another type of Star, latch onto to one particular One and live there forever or,
until morning comes from afar. At least,
Like the wise men, we must look up to know;
until the glow finds us finally laughing back at it, we hook up to know
the falling snow and, us waiting (one of the other, and sometimes both) breaks the fire from our bones, and breaks us, into fire; and all our fears, year after year.
Melt into a face which we already know.
Our names were already whispered.
Written now in snow,
and we are just sky writing here
or watchers, gazing upwards through snow at stars
we already are…
we are tethered on a higher star than today’s
friend. We must lasso that Star to aid these falling ones…
at least we can do that while staring at the skies tonight.
My forever Love.

With so much family already singing, we endure in joyful thanks for the song, already begun. Our suffering is drenched in song. The two get along in us as we join along in singing as we go. Praise is our response to suffering! Not our escape route.

Praise is not escapism or false optimism, it is our response in trust to suffering. “For the living Hope set before Him, He endured…” and even risked praising His Father…our response to suffering, is praise. Rejoice as you suffer, then you will be His signs. To sing as we suffer is the greatest art of living! Both to hear and to join in, That song, is an act of faith and trust! It becomes a fragrant offering!

“We can always hear the choir, if we listen well.” My mentor used to say. The cloud of witnesses are always leaning in, and over half of them are singing.

Loneliness is impossible when engulfed in this endless melody, and within this enormous room we actually already live in. It’s impossible to be alone here, with so much family, already singing.

We live daily, with so much family already singing….

What Awe is: (nice sitting with this book today by the poetic mystic hassidic thinker, social worker, dreamer, reformer) Mid-rashing today with this book: “The Essential writings of Abraham Heschel” Great read, especially if you live in the 20th C.

“Awe is an intuition for the creaturely dignity of all things and their preciousness to God!” Abraham Heschel.

And also, how, if beheld in love, each person, plant, animal leads us deeper into a gratitude and appreciation of their Creator. You start to feel His infinite care for each creature! An attitude of awe leads you into true sight! “Everything starts referring to Him.”

“Knowledge is fostered by curiosity; Wisdom is fostered by awe!”
This great teacher is replete with quotable wisdom! Fun gleaning from his journey today! Enjoying this book edited by his daughter.

Also…the author’s mother, was complimented like this repeatedly: “People liked to stand near her when she was praying!”

Now that’s a compliment! I’ve met people like that in my life. True prayer is contagious, as is wonder and awe, gratitude and thankfulness for being here in this enormous room, which was here before us.

I pray that people feel more alive and themselves when they are standing near me when i am praying! And that I live a life in awe! Or, if I ever write a book, that it continues to infect people with care and compassion for others above themselves.

And, if you have a praying mother, you’ll probably end up a Rabbi, or at least, a better human being! So much to learn from our parents!

Seeing others standing in the enormous room we actually live in:

The enormous room is where we are meant to live, and already do
(when i see you, we are standing in that room already!)
all other rooms (jobs, roles, positions, our performances…) aren’t proportioned truly, aren’t big enough to define us-their gravity is too small, not a large enough law, or too small for thanks songs, or long enough to hang your hat in…
when i see you, God smiles in care, and i know.
i see all you stand within and for-all your people ever, cousins and lovers
fathers and mothers…i look at you, and see your entire family forever!
i see a long lineage of us all pointing towards
the same director and direction. Your mother was mine, as was your Dad.
i also see us together forever dancing
in this enormous room, just behind the curtain-where light and lightening touch
as stage lights of becoming.
The communion of saints, the cloud of witnesses are all singing
in the same enormous room. It’s already home, at least
for us. Those immediately dignified, just by where
they are standing, and what they reference, and are leaning
into….us all notes, singers, dancers on the ball room floor
of The Enormous Room which never ends
and is already available to dance on….
when even i see your face
i see every generation’s
faces in a mirror on the wall of the enormous room.
And when i see you, i see proof of God
as we stand together in Love’s disco light
in the enormous room.

Parables are cool!

(Parabole-juxtaposition, comparison from known to unknown, illustration, analogy, to put side by side in a fresh way, like an extended metaphor…)

Studying the method of parables in teaching today….they were common in the midrashic (rabbinical interpretation) method of teaching. Greek’s used em too! Using common things to explain spiritual realities, symbolic analogies….Jesus obviously used this method often. Extended metaphors, analogies and little symbolic stories. A little example: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. Love that one!

Still, a cool method of gaining insight, and seeking out the truth between, and behind the lines, as the Rabbi’s put it. Analogy, juxtaposition, setting odd things side by side is also how humor works. Jesus kept saying, the Kingdom of God is like, is like, is like….cool pedagogical method. Parables make you want to daresh-seek out the meaning until your inside of it! The symbol points and participates in the Reality to which it points!

What would new parables look like. What about the weeds parable. The Kingdom is like a computer which got a virus. Instead of destroying the whole computer, God waited until the end, and had His assistants take out the virus and destroy it. Or, the Kingdom is like dying streaks in your hair the wrong color. Instead of shaving your head, you let it all grow out, and later cut out the streaked hair (ok, that’s not my best, but fun trying!)

Jesus often taught using symbolic analogies! Keyhole stories to glimpse Kingdom through. Fun studying them and the method itself of teaching. Here’s one I liked from another Rabbi:

I still like this method of gaining insights! Liked this one! Makes you want to keep your costumed readied! Although in christianity character is more important than costume, both must stay readied! Using common things around us to reveal uncommon things.

“Johanan b. Zakkai illustrates the necessity of daily conversion and of constant readiness to appear before God in heaven by the following parable: “A king invited his servants to a banquet without stating the exact time at which it would be given. Those who were wise remembered that all things are ever ready in the palace of a king, and they arrayed themselves and sat by the palace gate awaiting the call to enter, while those who were foolish continued their customary occupations, saying, ‘A banquet requires great preparation.’ When the king suddenly called his servants to the banquet, those who were wise appeared in clean raiment and well adorned, while those who were foolish came in soiled and ordinary garments. The king took pleasure in seeing those who were wise, but was full of anger at those who were foolish, saying that those who had come prepared for the banquet should sit down and eat and drink, but that those who had not properly arrayed themselves should stand and look on” (Shab. 153a). Similar parables expressing the same thought are found in the New Testament (Matt. xxii. 10-12, xxv. 1-12; Luke xii. 36)”

Very kind and humble of God to teach this way. Make you aware of how aware He is of how the common things around us work and reflect spiritual reality! He is intimately familiar with the common metaphors around us! Things teach, when we see them as parables! I like thinking of living itself as a parable or poem! Nothing lacks meaning when seen through the lens of parable!

While in waiting, we suffered well-that is
with Him. So now, we are clothed in Joy
and Hope is our pipe to smoke tonight.

Postcards from the circus

This, the year of the return of the clown,
I thought I’d send some postcards from the circus.
We suffer the trapeze to know the release of Joy and Hope
in mid-air!
The circus of suffering with, always
crescendos into Joy
by His Wounds, our costumes are mended. And Hope trumpets
new beginnings, new lights, new juggling acts…
Backstage we did not deny our pain,
so now we can share His Joy with you all.
And we will not fall, but when we do, Our Net is secure.
We caught, while falling well (that is, into His Pain through ours!), bounce back upwards
into the enormous canopy, the big top of the Palms of Our Father–
The Master of ceremonies,
catches us again.
And this is our whole act.
Hope you enjoy the show friends!
Step right up!

Today with Nature and God..

I never feel lonely
with all these creatures around
each playing in their own way
I could listen all day, to say,
just the birds in my yard, and be endlessly
convinced, entranced, and in wonder at all
that God is.
The world is filled now
only with friends.
Since childhood, where it begins, the robin and blue jay and the wren
spoke to me of God. And i listened, even then.
Later the hawks talked mostly to me. They taught me
to see and how to hunt with articulation
the things of The Spirit.
Now even some of the creatures of the deep
teach me from their mysterious silent distance. God is always talking
through them, at least to me.
So i never feel lonely
with so many friends around
to see.