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Poem – the two trees.

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Sin and shame came into the world
at the same time.
Adam and Eve ate fruit
from the tree
of the knowledge
of good and evil.

After that,
they were full of shame
about being naked,
about who they were,
about their very being,
and so they hid themselves
when God came around.

Before that,
they were
as they were created.
God saw them exactly
the way
God created them.
All was well.
They could be themselves
around God
without any
fear or embarrassment.

Thousands of years later,
Jesus
was placed on the cross,
a wooden pole
stuck in the ground
with a horizontal bar across it.
It was symbolically a tree,
and in fact,
it was symbolically
That tree,
that same tree
in the Garden.

Jesus tells us that
He is the fruit of that tree,
and that we are to eat it.
We are to consume
his flesh
and drink
his blood.

He is the antidote
for that first tree,
that first sin.
He is the cure
for what ails us.

When we eat the fruit
that is Jesus,
we are restored.
We have re-entered
the Garden.
He makes us able
to stand
before God,
as we are,
without sin or shame,
without fear or embarrassment.

Poem – I orbit God

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I orbit God
far away and near.
Circling away and close,
I never ever
stay close
for long.

Perhaps I’m a moth,
the flame of God
drawing me in.
Perhaps the flame will burn me.
Perhaps that is why
I move away.
Perhaps this is
the story
I tell myself
to not feel bad
about how far away
I’ve gotten.

Perhaps really, it is that
when I get close,
I forget.
I forget
how desperately
I need the light
when I’m close.
It is only when
I’m cold
and dark
that I remember
I need
the light
and I start to swim closer.

Poem – what is evil?

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How interesting that the Hebrew word for demon
שד

Is related to the word for fallow land
שדה בור

And battlefield, and minefield
And related to looted, robbed
שדדו

Evil is not using resources properly,
potential fruitfulness wasted,
through human means. It isn’t an accident.
It is
intentional or unintentional
mis-use of a gift from God.

Unintentionally
wasting your life
has the same result
as intentionally wasting it.
Not choosing
to be mindful,
to be a good steward
is to choose evil,
to allow it in.
There is no excuse for passivity.

Poem – we are all orphans

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We are all orphans, you and I,
regardless of what age we were when
our parents left us,
regardless of how
they left us,
regardless of if
they left us at all.

Thirteen or thirty makes no difference.
Death or divorce makes no difference.
The pain is the same.
The loss is just as deep,
the edges of the wound
just as jagged,
just as raw.

But we deceive ourselves
when we say
we miss
our parents,
because even when
they are alive and with us,
we still have a lack,
a feeling of loss.
Even when they are fully present
we are missing something.
We think
that when they die
we have a name for this feeling.
We call it grief.
But really we were grieving
even when they were with us.

Our lack, our loss,
is that we desire to be
One with the One.
We desire to be together
with our Heavenly Parent.
Not dead,
but fully
and totally
alive in that presence.

Just like how people who are dying,
even when they have not spoken
in days,
will cry to be home,
even when they are there
already.
It isn’t a physical address
they are longing for.
It isn’t a place.

Likewise it isn’t our earthly parents
we miss,
but our True Parent.

Poem – every bad thing

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Every bad thing God gives me
is my medicine, not my poison.
Each is carefully titrated, dosed
just for me, at that moment.

But they taste bad, have
unpleasant side effects
so I sometimes refuse,
sticking my tongue out.

So God gives it to me again
later, in a different form
so maybe I won’t recognize it
but this time
it is stronger,
because I’m sicker.

What does “new wine” mean?

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What is Jesus talking about when he is talking about drinking wine in a new way in his Father’s kingdom with his disciples? This is at the first Lord’s Supper and is right after he has offered them the cup of wine, transforming the idea of the wine into something more by saying that it represents his blood. This verse is in three different Gospels, so I’ve put them here for you. This translation is HCSB.

Matthew 26:29
29 But I tell you, from this moment I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way in My Father’s kingdom with you.”

Mark 14:25
25 I assure you: I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way in the kingdom of God.”

Luke 22:18
18 For I tell you, from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

The notes for this line in the HCSB offer this different translation – “drink new wine” and then add that the original literally says “drink it new”.

I thought about this and prayed about it while trying to rewrite it. Asking Jesus into it, I asked for him to tell me a new way to say this so that it means something to today’s readers. This is the result.

“Truly, from now on I will not drink the fruit of the vine until when we will drink it together in the kingdom of my Father.”

One thing I tried was

“I will drink it for the first time with you in the kingdom of God.”

And yet another was

“..until the time when I will drink new wine in the kingdom of God with you.”

I find it significant that in the Gospel of Luke, there is something that Jesus says about eating bread, which came out as –

“I will reveal to you now that I won’t eat it again until what it represents has come to fruition in the kingdom of God.”

LK 22:14-16

I have rendered it as “fruit of the vine” rather than wine, because the Hebrew blessing is made over wine or grape juice. This also is in reference to the vow of the Nazarene. John was one since birth, and Samson was one. They were not allowed to have “the fruit of the vine” – to consume grapes in any form during the time of their vow.

Stand up for yourself

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In the 26th chapter of the book of Numbers, The Lord tells Moses to take a census of everyone who is at least 20 years old and able to serve in the army.

Numbers 26:1-2

After the plague, the LORD said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, 2 “Take a census of the entire Israelite community by their ancestral houses of those 20 years old or more who can serve in Israel’s army.”

After the census, The Lord says that the land is to be divided fairly.

Numbers 26:52-56

52 The LORD spoke to Moses, 53 “The land is to be divided among them as an inheritance based on the number of names. 54 Increase the inheritance for a large tribe and decrease it for a small one. Each is to be given its inheritance according to those who were registered in it.55 The land must be divided by lot; they will receive an inheritance according to the names of their ancestral tribes. 56 Each inheritance will be divided by lot among the larger and smaller tribes.”

Then in Numbers 27:1-4 we have this situation –

The daughters of Zelophehad approached; Zelophehad was the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh from the clans of Manasseh, the son of Joseph. These were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the entire community at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, 3 “Our father died in the wilderness, but he was not among Korah’s followers, who gathered together against the LORD. Instead, he died because of his own sin, and he had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan? Since he had no son, give us property among our father’s brothers.”

Women are standing up and asking for their inheritance. Moses doesn’t know what to do, so he wisely asks The Lord.

Numbers 27:5-7
5 Moses brought their case before the LORD, 6 and the LORD answered him, 7 “What Zelophehad’s daughters say is correct. You are to give them hereditary property among their father’s brothers and transfer their father’s inheritance to them.

I always thought that these verses were a great argument for standing up for your rights. The Lord agreed with the women and included them in the inheritance. This could be used as a justification for women having greater roles in the church – (if you ignore that Jesus said that we should all be equal and have no one above us other than God – which means that all ordained people are going against Jesus’ express commandments).

But then in reading it again, I noticed that The Lord at no point said to count only the men. That was assumed. By men.

How much else has been assumed, and how much else of women’s rights have been taken away because someone ignored what was said by God?

Just like the daughters of Zelophehad, we have to stand up for our rights both in and out of church, or we will be left out of what is rightly ours.

(All Bible translations are HCSB)

Lifting up the snake

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What is Jesus referring to when he says the following words to Nicodemus?

John 3:14

14 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life.”

He’s referring to when the Jews were wandering in the desert. Once again, they are impatient and irritable. Once again, some of them complain. The Lord sends snakes to kill many of them as a response. Here’s the story he is referring to –

Numbers 21:4-9
4 Then they set out from Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea to bypass the land of Edom, but the people became impatient because of the journey. 5 The people spoke against God and Moses: “Why have you led us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!” 6 Then the LORD sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit them so that many Israelites died. 7 The people then came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Intercede with the LORD so that He will take the snakes away from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. 8 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake image and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten, and he looked at the bronze snake, he recovered.

This time is different from the many other times they have complained. Often it is Moses who intervenes, but here the people admit that they have done wrong. Often Moses steps in to avert a mass destruction of all of Israel by the Lord when they are ungrateful. This time they realize they have sinned and ask Moses to intercede with the Lord for them. The Lord tells Moses to mount an image of a snake on a pole, but they have to look at it. They have to seek it out to recover.

What Jesus is saying is that in the same way and for the same reason, he is to be mounted on a pole. Only those who admit that they have sinned and seek him will be saved from death.

Take a day off.

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When was last time you actually took the day off? I don’t mean one where you had a day off from work and you got caught up with all your chores. I don’t mean a day where you were doing yard work that exhausted you. I don’t mean a day where you had to spend it with people you don’t like. A day off from paid work that you spend working on your own things that exhaust you isn’t a day off. It is a day of work that you don’t get paid for.

I mean a day that you actually did what you wanted to do. I mean a day that you got to eat when you were hungry, get up when you felt rested, and take a nap when you wanted to. You got to watch the shows you wanted to or watch nothing at all. There was no schedule and no agenda. A true day off is one where you get to have fun and really relax.

I believe that many of the diseases that we are seeing these days are because people are not taking a day off. They’re not taking any time for themselves. They are trying to multitask and do too much. Multitasking is newspeak for screwing three things up at once.

Our bodies are like oil lanterns. They are fragile, and the fuel gets used up. We can shine our light for only so long before the fuel runs out. We recharge our lanterns by resting and eating healthy food. You can’t short-circuit it by using caffeine and sugar. The proliferation of energy drinks is a symptom of doing too much.

How about instead of doing more, we do better with less? Instead of propping ourselves up with energy drinks and pep pills, we take a day off and really rest? Instead of burning the candle at both ends, how about we take a day once a week where we don’t burn it at all?

What if instead of having to “do all the things”, the only thing you had to do was not do anything at all? Many of us are frightened of a whole day of doing nothing. We’re frightened of not having anything on our to-do list. Having a day off doesn’t have to mean you’re alone. But it does mean that you have to take time slowly and carefully.

Some suggestions – Turn off all electronic devices – no TV, no computer, no tablet. Color in a coloring book. Paint for fun – not for a project. Don’t complete anything. Don’t do any chores. Take a nap. Go for a walk.

The only thing on your to-do list is to be.

God said “Be holy, like I am holy.”

God named God’s self as
“I am what I am”
not
“I am what I do”,
or
“I am what my job is,”
or
“I am how much money I make”
or
“I am how big my house is.”
but
“I am what I am.”
So just be.
For one day.

Poem – Who is your God?

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“You shall have no other gods before me.”

Sure, you worship God,
but what else
do you give power to?

Who has power over you
so that you feel
your life is not your own?
Who demands
too much
of your time?
Who are you afraid
to say
“No”
to?

Your boss,
your job,
your family,
even your
religious tradition?

Perhaps you worry about
your health
or how you are going
to pay your bills?

Every time you give your energy
to something or someone else
and think that it or he or she
controls you,
you have made it into your God.

Perhaps you have made yourself
into a god?
Perhaps you feel that you are
in control
of everything,
that your willpower,
your education,
your strength
will ensure
you will never
lack.

Is your to-do list
bigger
than your prayer list?

Who is your God?
There can only be one.
Pick wisely.