An Artifact for the Future

An Artifact for the Future

(“At the morning watch the Lord, in the pillar of fire and cloud, looked down on the Egyptian army and threw the Egyptian army into a panic.” Exodus 14:24)

The ground in front of us tilted and almost melted away.
We hadn’t counted on anything stopping our campaign,
we hadn’t planned for any opposition.
Just like that we were in the dark again;
the wind was dusty and the sky was gone.
The water nearly swallowed us up and the
morning fled like a dirge underneath our feet.
We had conceived of a quick weekend operation,
a short foray into the jaws of destiny.
We did not expect to come home so wounded,
to return with so little to result for our time.
How could we anticipate this scattering, this
chattering after training so well?
We called on our gods, we devised our sacrifices,
we practiced our prayers and were certain we
had been heard. We could not lose.
We could only win.
We planned on kissing our wives when we returned,
but we were still recovering from the frightening
thunder that came from nowhere. We thought we
were impervious, we thought we could win anywhere
with the help of our gods and our technology.
But those we enslaved escaped; we were meant to
bring them back. They became invisible and we,
confused and dazed, decided the time had come to
retreat. Everything we believed had become an artifact
for the future to unearth. We did not look forward to
giving our full report.

Sometimes we Dream ...to Live in a Space Which, Though Committed to Truth, Accepts all Variations in the Attempts to Understand it

Sometimes we Dream
…to Live in a Space Which, Though Committed to Truth, Accepts all Variations in the Attempts to Understand it

(“O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.” Isaiah 25:1)

Without hiding a single intention, I would like to share
indented inventions and the hopes I wrote down on the back page
of a red covered Bible so many years ago.

So far behind me now, I live in my future, I sit outside the circle I envisioned;
Adobes and an artistic community, Georgia O’ Keeffe and New Mexico,
Toas and Santa Fe and Albuquerque snow.

Or somewhere like it all; Santa Cruz or Sausalito would do,
to spin my gadgets like unwinding yoyos flying in the sky,
dancing over the bay, and, for every observation, there would be
twice as many weblog reports of unusual phenomena sighted
and dated
and photographed

While I shared pie at the coffee shop on the way
to Santa Fe
or up the bay
to Strawberry.

If I had the time I would write my rhymes like
Ansel Adams loved his wilderness; mimes
silently speaking the red filtered shutter God
had prepared for just that day.

I hate museums, unless I live near one,
and rarely visit zoos (there is no on there
to talk to).

I am charmed by beauty, the green and the grandeur,
I am grateful for vision, the shadows and the yellow.

My dream, my scheme for my pinnacle pronouncement,
was a local consort where minds were applauded and
thinking was as welcome as the next cup of coffee poured
by a waitress with a wink who knew we did not, did never,
know it all.

When will we (You know who) ever learn, faithful as You are,
You leave us freer than liberals to examine the facets of diamonds
just discovered,
to bounce the ball of interpretation higher than the boys in grade school.

It is not heresy to say
“I do not yet know it all; symbols or prosaic arcanity.”

Ready for the City

Ready for the City

(“The glory of God made the city bright. It was dazzling and crystal clear like a precious jasper stone.” Revelation 21:11)

No more dreary within, without;
sunlight minus the star, moonlight just as bright,
and the faces I’ve missed that open the sparkle new like then,
will stay and not leave, play and conceive every note we imagined
sung again, impromptu again, collaborating lately like once upon a time.

Right now I barely face the day,
and the faces I remember are much too far away to cheer
the movement in mud hope has become.

I am ready for the city, buzzing like Christmas eve downtown,
without the pushing, the panic, the gravely grab for one more
gift wrapped late. Only the Salvation Army bells, the carols over
cheap boardwalk speakers, the children giggling over what is in the
sacks, the boxes, the trunk and closets. Just the seventh-grade disciples
dressed in white, singing joy to the world down a nursing home hall
out of tune, dropping words, shy but loving the attention.

I am ready for the city dressed like a jewel,
the color of air, the taste of sunrise,
where every friend is the same face all around,
every face genealogy, heirs together without a moment’s deliberation.

I am ready for the Throne, my tears the prism seeing the
rainbow river that embraces the dais. And I am shattered in
a moment unchanged, shards frozen midair before Perfection’s height,
and I see the cracks I hoped had held together, I hoped to hide in the
par-light of a shadowy sun.

Before the Creator who fashioned me well, every crack was now a crater
and I stood, could do no other, in the face of such glaring inspection. Jesus

i cried

Son of God, have mercy on me.

I am ready for the city, dressed like a jewel,
and cannot remember a smidgen or minute when
dark spoke its half-face or chips ruined my value.

I am ready for the city, all has been made known,
the cover-ups disrobed, and, not alone, I and we,
surround the throne, light, air, water and quantum waves
off Love’s pure reign.

No One Knows Me

No One Knows Me

“…but one thing I do: I forget what is behind and reach out for what lies before.” Philippians 3:13b)

Don’t think you know what is inside my head,
until you have taken the time to embrace my heart.
Don’t offer me crumbs and call them opportunities,
I would rather take my chances with chance itself than
open a gift mislabeled.

No one knows me,
No one loves me,
No one speaks truer,
No one shows mercy,
Like the Lord my God.

Don’t presume your position grants you rights
of inquisition,
until you spend a baker’s dozen tears with me.
Don’t cry over my failure before you cry
over my pain.

No one sees me,
No one frees me,
No one disciplines,
No one renovates,
Like the Lord my God.

I can only run as fast as my legs run today,
with the weight they carry and the scars from fiery accidents,
but I will run and not lie down,
until I reach the tape, even later than I hoped.

No one cheers me,
No one trains me,
No one plans the view,
No one paints the heights,
Like the Lord my God.

Though I wake with tears I will not lie down forever,
Though yesterday’s voices still nag like ill-advised administration,
I will curl my hear toward tomorrow’s trajectory,
and believe the dripping from last night’s rain
speaks only of floral, makes only new perfume
once new rays dance upon the opening roses.

No one writes me,
No one paints me,
No one plants foliage,
No one flings sunsets,
Like the Lord My God.

They Shall Know

They Shall Know

“They shall know that I am the Lord their God in that I have caused them to go into exile among the nations and have now gathered them into their own land. I will never leave any of them alone again, nor any longer hide My face from them.” Ezekiel 39:27, 28a


This passage is speaking specially to Israel about her future return from exile. God tells them that they will know that He is Lord based on two things: He caused them to go into exile, and He gathered them back to their own land.


This speaks to us about the character of God, and how we truly know Him. God had sent Israel into exile after hundreds of years of her idolatry. He had been patient, sending prophet after prophet calling the nation back to Him. Though there were occasional renewals of devotion, over the long run Israel fell into deeper and deeper idolatry.


Finally, after proving she would not respond to God’s invitations and warnings, He allowed Israel to be overrun, the temple destroyed and her people dispersed among the nations. In doing so, He was trying to open their eyes to the truth that He alone is God.


But He would not leave them there. God’s purposes in our discipline are for His glory, not our pain. In other words, He allows only the right amount of pain that will “bring us to our senses.” That is how He worked with Israel.


As Israel began to repent, God allowed her to return home. The final return of Israel to her homeland awaits a time still in the future. Again, though, that return is for God’s glory. As they return, experiencing God’s grace and mercy, they will know even better that He is “the Lord their God.”


I believe this passage is actually about the “return” God offers everyone through Christ. The final part of this verse says that God will “never leave any of them alone again.” Though we wish it were different, we know that not all of Israel is actually in her homeland. Not even every person who is truly devoted to God.


But, everyone who has returned to God through Christ is indeed never left alone again. In fact, that was God’s plan all along. The exile and return of Israel were pictures of the way God would finally offer a “return policy” to the entire world. Faith in Christ puts us right in the middle of God’s promise to never leave us alone again.


As we realize that God was involved, even when we were away from Him, and that He is definitely involved in our return, it is He who receives the glory. Following Christ is not about our personal comfort; it is about making known that “the Lord is God”. The promises He gives are not temporal, they are spiritual.


I am truly comforted with the knowledge that my “exile” was as much a part of God’s plan as my return. I am encouraged that I never need to doubt if I will be “outside” His circle of love again, because of His promise to never leave us alone again.


And, even better, verse 28 begins with “I will never hide My face from them.” We may try to get God’s attention through all sorts of spiritual contortions. It doesn’t matter if it is quiet meditation or sanctimonious stickling about morality, those do not bring us close to God. Only through the cross where Jesus atoned for every one of my sins do I find access to Him.


But, that access, exclusive as it is, is also absolutely free! It is by faith and faith alone. I believe what He says, “I will never hide My face from them.” I may need to quiet my mind to remind myself of that. Or, I may obey moral laws because my faith has changed my behavior, but His presence is a foregone conclusion when we trust Christ.


Father, I am grateful that You have been involved in all of my life. Even when I was so far away I gave no thought to You, You were still working Your plan in my life. You were waiting for me to say Yes to Christ. And now, having returned, I know I need never despair of Your presence. Your promise to never hide Your face buoys my spirits and leaves me speechless in praise.