Exiled, a stranger in a strange land with hope for life
But we have locked our doors to keep him out
For the life of the World unless an inconvenience
One in the image of God disallowed human decency at our action
Hands and feet of the Lord Jesus, lest it be easier to pretend the problem away
Now has come the time for our repentance;
Forgive us Father, for we have sinned
We have not loved our neighbor as ourself
Rather, we have loved ourselves and only ourselves
We are the sinners we pretend not to be
They come seeking refuge from terror and evil
We slam doors in their faces
They come hungry for food to eat
And we stuff our mouths full, claiming to have none
Can we really call ourselves People of the Lord?
They sit on the side of the road begging for our spare change
And we pretend as if we are poorer than they
They freeze to death on the sidewalk
And we cross to the other side like the priest and Levite of old
Have we reason to call ourselves the hands and feet of Christ?
Mightn’t there come a day when we are hungry with no food to eat
Did the Lord not command us to feed the hungry, and give to the poor?
Have we shown the love of the Lord to even our closest neighbors?
Mightn’t we show love rather than fear, generosity rather than persecution
Else we might no longer rightfully call ourselves the People of the Lord
Aug 2, 2017
Aug 2, 2017 at 2:43 AM UTC
The morning came slowly on that third day
The sun wondered how it might be able to shine through such darkness
The tears of the earth came early in the dew that morning
The flowers began to bloom in an open defiance to the earth
Perhaps the decaying body of the Lord gave them new life
The birds sang songs of jubilee that morning, as if there were reason for joy
Did they not know that the Light of the World had been snuffed out?
Did they not know that the one who fed them had gone away?
Did they not know that their creator lay below them dead in the ground?
Or did they sing defiantly knowing what we yet did not know?
Much like it had been in Bethlehem decades before, the world was silent
Breaking the silence like the Divine Child’s cries, somewhere a child cried
As if this child knew that his Lord lay dead below the earth
As if he could feel the thick darkness that surrounded him
But then, in defiance like only a child could bring, the first laughter in days
The new world was cold, dark, and bitter, and a child dared to laugh
While the rest of the world cried and mourned the death of their only hope
This child laughed while the birds sang and the flowers bloomed
It was as if they did not know that the Life of the World was still dead
Rather, though, it was as if they had read the prophets of old, and believed
When the sun finally rose, it could not shine through the thick darkness
We lived in a dark purgatorial world where we awaited the judgement
What a terrible judgement that must be coming toward us
We, who drove the nails into His hands, and gave Him over to death
But then, a glimmer of light comes upon the horizon
The light was not the rising of the sun, but some holy other
Those disciples who had run away while He hung on the cross ran again
This time not away from their Savior, but toward that otherworldly light
When they came to where He has been buried, they fell upon their faces
The brightest light to ever grace this old world poured out of the tomb
Then they heard a voice, the voice of the Risen Lord
‘Rise up you men of earth’ He said to the men lying facedown
‘Rise up oh you sleepers!’
‘Behold the Light of the World is upon you’
It was then that the world began its slow change
The cosmos, which had fractured so long ago in Eden, began to mend
Dead men rose to new life
Dark places were then filled with life
The world became a new place where the old had passed away
Every crack and crevice filled with an uncreated light never before seen
For the Lord has risen from the dead!
Indeed He has defeated death!
And forever, we shall keep the feast !
Alleluia!
Apr 16, 2017
Apr 16, 2017 at 7:46 PM UTC
We entered the holy city with palm branches to welcome
Parading in as they sang 'Hosanna!'
They honored Him as if He were their king
As if He had come to set them free
Oh how right they were, the Promised King, come to set His people free
We shared in communion with the Lord and the betrayer
On the eve of the darkest day in history
Hate brewed at one end of that table
While love stirred peacefully on the other
And all of us living in blissful ignorance in between
We celebrated the passover with our master
And we prayed that The Lord would not pass over us again
That instead He would stoop down to us and save us
But we denied Him in His hour of need
We slept soundly as He was betrayed by us
Like a lamb led to the slaughter, He gave His life for another
They beat Him within inches of His divine life
They cast lots for his garments, and spit on His bloodied face
No longer did they yell 'Hosanna!' to welcome their king,
But they yelled 'crucify him!' to condemn their Divine Lord
They drove nails into his frail hands
He cried out to heaven asking why The Lord had forsaken Him
He declared in defiance ‘It is finished’ and He passed on to death
They threw a sword into his swollen side
His holy blood and holy water spilled to sanctify the earth onto which it fell
So silly they were, they thought that they could **** God
That they really believed they could depose the Lord of all with mere nails
But the sky darkened, and heaven turned away as to not see her Lord die
The earth shook and the world changed
Suddenly all knew 'surely this man was the Son of God'
The once bright and beautiful sky turned suddenly dark
The earth shook violently in disapproval that her creator lay dead on her face
The warm humid air turned suddenly bitterly cold and dry
For the promised Messiah had been defeated
Death itself had victory over the world, and the world knew it was so
There, on the cross, lay the Life of the World, dead
The Light of the World had been snuffed out, and the world left in darkness
The hope of all mankind suddenly vanished
The steady hand holding the world wavered in mourning
And darkness covered the seemingly God-forsaken earth
Who are we at the foot of the cross that stood silently?
We stood by and watched the promised Messiah be taken away and killed
We reap what we sew, and will now live out our days in darkness
Without hope we shall suffer for all time, a punishment fit for our crime
We crucified the Messiah, we gave the Lord to death, we killed God
For three days the sun did not rise
For three days the world swayed unstable
The demons danced in the darkness
Hell was victorious
Because for three days, God lay dead in a tomb.
Apr 15, 2017
Apr 15, 2017 at 12:19 PM UTC
Wake up, dear dreamer; the morning has come!
Weary student, the term is over; the holidays have begun!
Oh saint, the long Advent is over; the season of feasting is here!
Fasting and waiting, purple drapings covered all the places
But look on this day, white and gold shine like the sun of a new day
Remember, oh Christian, that night in the town of David
When the Light of the World finally shone bright
When, for a brief and glorious moment, eternity flashed its beauty
Remember that night, dear parishioner, when hopelessness was banished
For the long-awaited Saviour had finally come!
This great season when we celebrate that God on High descended to Earth down low
That the Lord of Heaven became lowly man to make all things new
That He showed us a world which we only know from fairy stories
A world where rivers run with wine and trees bear fruit the color of gold
Remember the Lord that came to renew the life robbed from humanity
So celebrate, oh Christian, you who have been renewed
Remember your Holy Baptism in the Lord, you saint
Remember all that you have forgotten, and celebrate the Incarnation!
Tear away those drapings of darkness and the curtains of purple
The season of fasting has passed, and a feast is to be set upon our tables!
Celebrate these next twelve days and never relent!
Dress the world in gold and white, that she might remember He who has restored her
For behold, the Word has been made flesh!
Behold, He brings life to this dying world!
Behold, before our eyes, the Salvation prepared for the nations!
Behold the Incarnate Lord!
Dec 25, 2016
Dec 25, 2016 at 1:19 AM UTC
Exiled for three hundred years
Without limbs, missing eyes, and unseen sins
The Church of Jesus Christ had been laid waste
Quietly living under the heavy boot of Roman Persecution
The bloodied Bride standing in Babylon waiting for her Groom
Hundreds of years prior, deep in the memory of the ancient past
Lay God Incarnate, dead in a tomb
Suffering for the sake of His very Bride
So too now does His wife lay dying
The Church being dismembered for His very sake
Three hundred years of darkness and exile
Separated from brothers and sisters by tyranny
Under duress and suffering inflicted by Rome
Until came an Emperor and a vacation home
To defeat the terror and end an exile
Constantine saw the Son of God and was granted victory in battle
Ushering in new peace and edicts to end the centuries of persecution
The Church of Jesus Christ was finally reunited and reconciled
For the Winter had passed, the night was over
The Spring had finally come, and the sun shone like the flaming tongues at Pentecost
Bishops and priests, pastors and deacons, fathers and sons; they descended upon Nicaea
Men with lost limbs and erased eyes, with restless wounds and sinister sins; they came
To reunite the Body of Christ, to define the Church for the life of the world
To remember what had been forgotten, and forget that ought which not be remembered
These men of God came to Nicaea to re-establish that from which they had previously departed
Confirming the core beliefs of the Body of Christ; the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth
The Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, made man Incarnate from the Blessed ******
And in the Spirit of God, the Lord the giver of life
In one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church
Existent for the sake of the life of the world
Broken they came, united they left
Exiled they were, one Church they became
When our spiritual fathers came upon the little town of Nicaea
And remembered the Church they had long forgotten that they were
Jun 14, 2016
Jun 14, 2016 at 12:03 AM UTC
A storm strikes the peaceful world in which I dwell
Shaking the very foundations of my soul
Somehow I forget who I am
My peaceful world shaken, my ignorant bliss erased
And I am left an unknown sojourner, lost in a dark world
So I venture into the forest searching for my home
Greeted by wild animals and wild people
I find trees and habitats, brothers and sisters, but not my home
I find a wonderful place to be yes, but my home it is not
No matter how fond and wonderful a place the forest, still it is not my home
So I take to the countryside in search of my home
Greeted by green fields and countless cattle
I find crops and vegetation, but not my home
I find a place with many brothers and sisters, but my home it is not
No matter how fond and wonderful a place the countryside, still it is not my home
So I set out out for the city in search of my home
Greeted by people more than can be counted
I find even some of my brothers and sisters, but not my home
I find a place bustling with energy and people, but my home it is not
No matter how fond and wonderful a place this city, still it is not my home
So I depart the city for a quaint village, in search of my home
Greeted by wonderful people, many brothers and sisters
I find a many good things and homely people, but my home it is not
I find, to my great pain, that this too is not my home
No matter all the wonderful and fond things, I know I have no home
I fall on the ground and look to the heavens
I clench my fist and shake it crying hateful words
And then my eyes see the glory of the Lord
A cross atop the highest tower of the village
For it all comes back to my pounding head
I return back to the fold of God from which I had wandered
Returning to the home from which I departed
And upon remembering my mother, I am reminded of my Father
Then I am reunited with my many brothers and sisters whom I had met along the way
Truly then, seeing the a glory of the Lord
For I was like the prophet who searched for the Lord
Seeing the great wind; but the Lord was not in the wind
Then the great earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake
Seeing the great fire; but the Lord was not in the fire
Then he heard the Lord come in a low and gentle whisper
I looked for my home in the forest; but it was not in the forest
I looked for my home in the countryside; but it was not in the countryside
I looked for my home in the city; but it was not in the city
And I looked for my home in the village; but it was not in the village
For I found my home, my very self, in the Body of Christ
He reminded me of my baptism
Reminding me of whose mark is upon me
Reminding me of who I am
In a low and gentle whisper
Calling out to me the name I had long forgotten; 'My Beloved'
May 22, 2016
May 22, 2016 at 5:01 PM UTC
Colossae
April 28, 2016
Oh Colossae, where have you gone to hide yourself from the Lord?
Colossae, why have you wandered away from the fold of God?
Have you forgotten the words of St. Paul, the man who brought you the news
Colossae, why have you departed from the ways of the Lord?
Oh Colossae, where hast thou gone?
Colossae, have you forgotten the Word which became flesh?
Have you Colossae, a city of unholiness, forgotten of the promise of newness
Oh Colossae, how quickly you have fallen into uncleanliness
From dust you came and to dust you shall return
But must you, oh Colossae, so quickly descend to the dirt of the earth?
Oh Colossae, you cut off limbs afraid of the flesh
As if less flesh could make you more holy
You believe that this gnostic theology saves you from your sins
But only God incarnate in flesh can save
Oh Colossae, forget not the Savior who made you new
Colossae, forget not the Spirit of God, the very giver of life
He descends upon you and makes you holy,
He proceeds from the Father and the Son, and is worshiped and glorified
He is not one to worship alone, or to give identity alone
For that you have been united with Christ, who proceeds from the Father
Colossae, remember not this heresy of mysticism
There is this flood of culture and thought
Oh Colossae, be not drowned by this flood
And forget not the great unity the Body is to be
Forget this heresy to which you have come to love
Oh Colossae, you worship angels and men, yet too God
But you know, oh Colossae that the Lord on High is worth the worship
For these messengers from heaven may bring the Word of the Lord
But certainly, oh Colossae, they are not the Word which became flesh
Oh Colossae, forget these ancient heresies, and raise up the Lord Jesus
Oh Colossae, you partook in the Holy Communion of His Body and Blood
And baptized in the death and resurrection
Anointed with oil like the kings of old
Engrafted into the marriage of the Lord Jesus and His bride
Oh Colossae, you are one Body, abandon it not
Oh Colossae, return to the Lord!
Come back to the land of your spiritual fathers
Where they worshipped the Lord in all goodness
Come back to this land of orthodoxy
Oh Colossae, repent of this heresy against the Lord!
Oh Colossae, how we have followed path you have trod
To forget the redemption by which we are saved
To remember not the works of the Lord, perpetrated that we might freely live
That we have forgotten to live holy lives
Oh Colossae, how we have fallen in line with you and the Church of yesterday
Too have we, this Church of the modern age, departed like you, Colossae
We have succumbed to these heresies of forgetting our Lord Jesus
Oh Colossae, we have fallen, like you, and dirtied ourselves from holiness
We have descended to the depths of the sea like the rest of the world
Too we are drowning in our sorrows and our sins and unholiness
Oh come Lord Jesus
And redeem us, like Colossae, back into Your holiness
Come Lord Jesus
And renew our troubled lives, bring us back into Your holiness
Oh come Lord Jesus
Apr 28, 2016
Apr 28, 2016 at 7:57 PM UTC
Oh Lord, faithful unto Your people in all ages and worlds
Faithful even unto those that forget Your faithfulness and discard You
And once more, here I am remembering not Your faithfulness
Your body has been desecrated and all but defeated and destroyed
For Your people use words as weapons for ****** and spite for means of destruction
Oh Lord, Your body has torn itself to shreds, and someone is going to die
That someone is going to be the Body of Christ
Disagreements and differences need not to lead to hatred and malice
We have been saved and united unto You by Your great love
Can we not be united to one another as to You through Your love?
When children become involved in immature entanglements, adults laugh and ignore
But when grown adults fight in the streets, the fight must be stopped
And now Your body is pulling punches and weapons
There is bitter hatred over language and style, awful things to cause blood
Oh Lord, might this soon come to an end?
Oh Lord why do You allow for Your people to tear one another down?
Day by day, year by year, generation by generation, Your Body falls deeper into dismay
Your people, oh Lord, war against one another over small issues and differences
How long must we persevere through bitter hate and rejection from brothers and sisters?
Oh Lord might we have unity and love as you have always called for us to come to?
Oh Lord, our knees are bruised from years of kneeling
Our minds are wounded from generations of dealing
Our necks are sore from all our lives spent looking heavenward
Our eyes are reddened and swollen from lives spent crying for our beaten and murdered brothers
And our souls are decomposing from being cast out by the powerful in Your Body
Oh Lord, heal our bruises, mend our wounds, take away our sores
Lord, take away our tears, and resurrect our souls into Your great love
Lord, defeat our adversaries and bring us all back into unity with each other and You
Bring us back into Your love and remember us who have been cast out and forgotten
Oh Lord, deliver us from our adversaries, our very brothers in Christ
But for those who show love to our brothers, and have unity in Your love
For those who call all sealed by the blood of Jesus Christ ‘brothers and sisters’
As for us, we bring forth unity in a fractured and all but defeated body
We call upon those who bring forth dissonance, and plead that they show Christian love
And though many do not listen, still we call in Your name
Still we commune in the Sacrament of Your Body and Blood with them
Still we refer as brothers and sisters, our very body
Even through pain, and hate, and torment, through tears, and blood, still we love on
Still we worship beside them, pray with them, and partake in the ministry of the Word with them
Still we participate in and out of liturgy in the work of the Church, for they are our brothers
So we cup our hands as if waiting for bread, we set our gaze toward the heavens
We pray for Your blessings to fall into our open palms daily
And here come I, on my knees begging that You deliver us from this hell
That You might intervene and put this broken body back together
That You might breathe new life into this seeming dying body
Your Son was murdered, broken, and crucified for our transgressions
His broken body lay in the ground for three days before He rose again into new life
So too might this body, the Body of Jesus Christ, resurrect into new life
And we read that Lazarus’ came back into life after passing unto death
So this body, which has yet not passed unto death, might be mended and healed
You, who have come to make all things new
Who have come to make all sad things come untrue
You can mend these wounds that seem unhealable
And we know that You will, for You are faithful unto Your children
Faith, which we so often lack, we will not lose
You have mercy upon us, forgiving us all our sins, through Your Son
You strengthen us in all goodness by the power of Your Holy Spirit keeping us in eternal life
So we lift our hearts to You, giving You thanks and praise always and everywhere
We sing songs to You and give our whole hearts to You
From the first breath we breathe in new life, to the last breath on earth, be our praise with You
This is the prayer from the oppressed in Your body
The prayer for those who have dwelt beneath the foot of the body
Have mercy upon us, have mercy upon our enemies
Give us Your grace, and bring the body back into unity, oh Lord
And more of all, grant us Your peace
Oh Lord, You accept the fervent prayers of your people
With Your many mercies, look with compassion upon us
Hear our prayers, oh Lord to whom we turn for great help
You are most gracious, you lover of souls
Hear, accept, and intervene on our behalf by Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Apr 25, 2016
Apr 25, 2016 at 10:48 AM UTC
Simon, son of Jonah
You sailed the waters seeking fish
You were called from your boat to walk upon dry land seeking men
You were called by the Lord, God of Israel
You were beloved by the Lord of Ages
Oh Simon, denier of the Lord
Simon, you claimed Him to be the Messiah, the Christ
That He was the Son of the Living God, and He gave you a new name
For upon you, Peter the rock, He would build His Church
And like Simon’s father Abram, you became like Abraham a patriarch with a new name
Oh Peter, you saw who He was
Not by flesh revealed
But because the Father above revealed it to you
Peter, how might you ever forget that He loves you?
Oh Peter, how might you forget what you have seen?
Immediately taken up by Satan
For you focus on the things of earth
Oh Simon, have you forgotten who you are?
Have you forgotten, Simon, that He made you new?
Simon, have got forgotten that you are a rock, made not for a boat?
Peter, with faith to move mountains, you served the Living God
But when you walked upon the sea, Simon sunk like the rock Peter was to be
Oh Simon, hadn't you the faith?
Hadn't you known, Simon, that you had the faith to walk on water?
But Simon, you sank fast from the weight of your unbelief
Peter, you sat as the Lord washed your feet
Not understanding why the God of all would wash old Simon's feet
And you broke bread together in the room with the betrayer
Peter, did you know that He would go to die?
Did you know, Simon, that you would deny the Lord?
Oh Simon, He prayed in the garden
And in His last hours with you, could you not keep awake?
For but an hour, Simon, could you not keep awake for the Lord?
Simon, was sleep more precious to you than the life of the Lord?
Oh Simon, such a low place to which you had sunk like the rock Peter was to be!
Then came the soldiers to arrest the Son of Man
Oh Peter, you could not bare for your master to be taken from you
But Simon, must you have cut the ear from a soldier's head?
Must you have, Simon, resorted to such violence and vengeance?
Oh Simon, you could attack a soldier for the Lord, but could you not confess Him?
Oh Simon, a servant girl came and asked of your master
And you denied Him as if you never knew Him
Oh Simon, would you deny the Lord in His time of need?
Simon, saying you never knew the man, God Himself
As if He had never called you Peter, or declared that you were HIs rock to build upon
Oh Simon, would you deny your Lord during the very trial for His death?
Would you, oh Simon, deny that He was the savior to all?
And when the rooster crowed, oh Simon, you knew
Peter, your eyes opened to the sins of Simon
That you awoke a rock sunk by the weight of unbelief gasping for air in the depths of the sea
Then the Lord died, and Simon, you forgot the profession of Peter
That He was the Christ, that He would rise again, Simon wept with the world
But when the girl came, that the body was gone, Peter, you ran
Peter, you hiked up your robe and ran to the tomb
The other disciple may have won the race, but it would not matter
Simon, you went into the tomb, and your blindness kept you
You saw emptiness, and darkness, Simon
How could you not remember the words of His prophecy?
Simon, why did you not laugh with joy at what the scriptures foretold?
Oh Simon, you went home never remembering what even you knew!
Simon, you went upon a ship to seek fish, the treasure of the sea
Oh Simon, have you forgotten who you are?
Have you forgotten that you are Peter, the rock
Simon, remember that rocks belong not on boats
But upon the ground, Simon, that the Church may be built upon you
Simon, you locked yourself in a room with your brothers
Hiding away from the world to which you were to serve
Oh Simon, what did you fear?
Oh Simon, why did you hide away?
Simon, oh Simon, how had you forgotten the promise He made?
Yet still He came in and brought for you peace
Oh Peter, He breathed His breath upon you and indwelled His Spirit within you
Simon, you left and came not back, and were never missed!
And Peter awoke never to give way to Simon ever again!
Oh St. Peter look back on the life you led
Born Simon, a sinner, a lowly sinner
Born again St. Peter, the rock, the patriarch
Oh St. Peter of the Rock, on you has our Church thrived
Apr 13, 2016
Apr 13, 2016 at 3:05 PM UTC
Scarred from beating and flogging
Left for dead by the tyranny of an Emperor
But gifted life by the love of the King
In unmarked graves like poor peasant slaves
These people of God left only a forgotten story of heroism
They suffered for the cause of the Savior
Losing eyes and limbs for a cause greater than themselves
Persecution at the highest stakes
Death here on earth to attain love after
Martyred for all that is good and that is Holy
These saints, the ancient followers of the Messiah
Went unto their death for the sake of the Church
They were nailed to trees, burned while yet still breathing
They were eaten by wild animals, skinned alive
And still yet, the Church marched forward into Persecution
It was high time that the Church begun mourning
That the people of God began to cry out to God
Begging for His mercy, crying for justice
Requesting intercession from the great pain of their brothers and sisters
Praying the prayer of the Church; ‘Come Lord Jesus’
The citizens of this tyrannical empire became saints of Jesus Christ
Rome became the center of the Church of Christ
The people of God looking unto the Holy Father of Rome
To find good teaching of the Word of the Lord
Misled though they had become, the center of the Church on Earth lies in Rome
For two millennia saints of the Lord Christ have been martyred
By those who claim names other than the Lord
And by those who claim even the name of Christ
But the days of suffering have yet to end
And they will not end until we see the very face of God
For even on the very day of the feast of the Resurrection of our Lord
Twenty-one men, saints who had proclaimed the name of Christ
Served their purpose to give light and life to a darkened world
Even unto their deaths and the days and years following
For they saw the face of the risen Lord, Jesus Christ
We see on foreign shores our brothers in chains
Suffering for the cause of the Savior
For His Bride, the Church of Jesus Christ
We can see the suffering saints in chains and behind bars
And we can see them dying without food or water
We watched as our brothers bound by chains knelt on a seashore
Kneeling before the Lord Jesus Christ in faith and obedience to Him
But standing behind them the very hands of Satan
Attempting to dismember the Body of Jesus Christ
Oh what a pitiful, futile effort to dethrone our Risen Lord
The saints had their throats slit and heads removed from their very bodies
Their earthly lives ended for their faith in our Lord
What an absurd attempt to defeat the risen Christ
These hands of Satan vow to dismember the Church of Christ
But they will not be victorious over our Risen Lord
The lifeless bodies of these saints lay upon the sand of the shore and their souls lifted up
As if taking the heads of the saints of Christ brings upon more darkness
Only giving more truth and more life and light to darkened dying world
They may take the heads from individual saints
But they will never take the Head of the Body Of Jesus Christ
These murdered and martyred saints of Jesus Christ
Their blood pouring into the sea turning the ocean to blood
South of Rome, the city these hands of Satan vow to overthrow
The center of the Church on earth against whom they wage war
But attempt to overthrow our Lord, and you will be defeated
Is now not the time to lament?
Is now not the time for the Body of Christ to rise
And with one voice cry out to the heavens; ‘Come Lord Jesus!’
For now, just as all days past and to come,
The people of earth need the Savior
Perhaps the time has once again come to mourn
Perhaps the time has come for the Body of Christ to once again lament
To the east and the west, we hear terrible cries of terror
To the north and the south, we can see tears of despair
For once again, it has become ever-so obvious of our need of the Savior
Come Lord Jesus!
Feb 8, 2016
Feb 8, 2016 at 4:31 PM UTC