Art & Poetry Based on John 9 It’s not that seeing is easier, without pain, free from suffering. No, truthfully, when the blinders are taken off, and the light streams in, with dazzling discomfort, surprising the senses, and the blurred, meshed colors of your life come into focus as the glaring light blazes, you can rightly expect a smattering of questions to follow, provoked, probing, doubtful: Aren’t you the one who used to…? How did this change happen? Where is this God of yours anyhow? Tell me again, how did this happen? What do you have to say about God?…
Tag: Gospels
Waiting in Empty Spaces
I was stopped at a red light a few days back when I spotted a bumper sticker on the back of an AT&T van. It said, “Put your phone down. Keep your eyes on the road. It can wait.” Although this whole message is an imperative one for us in this age of texting, I found myself honing in on three little words. It. Can. Wait. This is not asked of us too often in 2016. These days, everything is at our fingertips. News. Music downloads. Photos instantly shared. Fast lanes at amusement parks. We can even grab hot soup…
Good Friday: Joseph of Arimathea’s Haiku
Today, Jesus is hung on the cross. It is here where he experiences thirst. It is here where he says, “Forgive them, they know not what they do.” It is here where he cries out in full humanity, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” It is here, where he simply proclaims, “It is finished”. In present times, we know the resurrection is coming, but back then, it was simply a day of darkness. A day where his followers must have felt deep grief and confusion. In the middle of despair, there was a man named Joseph, a…
Lent Week 6: Pilate’s Diary Entry
This is the final week of the Lenten series. This week, leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, I visit with Pontius Pilate, Roman governor. Pontius Pilate is fascinating to me because I’ve always sensed his trepidation to send Jesus to his death. It’s as if his heart was telling him to save Christ, but fear took hold. I imagined what he may have written in a diary after he sends Christ to be crucified. Two readings from the book of John give you a brief look at Pilate’s dilemma. A reading from the book of John 18:18-40 Then the Jewish leaders…
Lent Week 5: Peter’s Lament
This week, I visit with Peter, one of the Lord’s most endeared disciples. Peter is the one who walked with Christ from early on, believing he would always stay true to Christ. When he denies Christ three times within a short period of time, we see Peter awaken to his humanity, bitterly weeping. I imagine Peter grieving over his failure to remain true to Christ. For this reason, today, I engage with Scripture to write a prayer from Peter’s perspective after he hears the crow of a rooster. A Reading from the Book of Luke 22:54-62 (NRSV) Then they seized…