Monday, January 23, 2012

Holy As A Day Is Spent

















holy is the disk & drain
the soap & sink, and the cup & plate
and the warm wool socks, and the cold white tile
showerheads & good dry towels
and frying eggs sound like psalms
with a bit of salt measured in my palm
it's all a part of a sacrament
as holy as a day is spent

holy is the busy street
and cars that boom with passion's beat
and the check out girl, counting change
and the hands that shook my hands today
and hymns of geese fly overhead
and spread their wings like their parents did
blessed be the dog, that runs in her sleep
to chase some wild & elusive thing
holy is the familiar room
and quiet moments in the afternoon
and folding sheets like folding hands
to pray as only laundry can
i'm letting go all my fear
like autumn leaves made of earth and air
for the summer came & the summer went
as holy as a day is spent

holy is the place i stand
to give whatever small good i can
and the empty page, and the open book
redemption everywhere i look
unknowingly we slow our pace
in the shade of unexpected grace
and with grateful smile & sad lament
as holy as a day is spent

and morning light sings "providence"
as holy as a day is spent

(Carrie Newcomer)

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Christian & Afterlife

Jesus' mission & message were not about "heaven", not about how to attain a blessed afterlife. Though Jesus, like many if his Jewish contemporaries, affirmed an afterlife, it was not his primary concern. Because many Christian as well as non-Christians tend to see Jesus & Christianity within the framework on what happens after death, it seems important to realise at the outset that this was not what his mission was about. it wasn't about what you must believe or how you must believe in order to attain heaven. Rather, his mission was about the character of God, the way of centering in God, and the kingdom of God.

(Marcus Borg, "Jesus")