Bright Star

Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds cover the peoples;
but upon you the LORD shines,
and over you appears his glory.
Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you:
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.
—Isaiah 60:1-6

When wise men turn from learning
the strictures of the page
to seek a bright star burning,
an infant as their sage,
the wisdom of the ages
our wisdom crosswise turns:
a key unlocking cages,
the light for which we yearn.

Our ordering and knowing
have all been rearranged
by that one bright star glowing,
and we shall all be changed.
We shall no more flee danger,
but kings shall leave their thrones
to bow before a manger
when Christ is king alone.

Though now the way is hidden
and hope is pale and wan,
yet that bright star is given—
To us is born a son.
His brighter morn is coming
that never shall grow dim,
the sun of justice dawning:
Come, let us follow him!

Incised third century A.D. sarcophagus slab depicts the Adoration of the Magi, from the Catacombs of Rome – translated as, “Severa, may you live in God”, Severa being the woman buried in the sarcophagus and likely the figure to the left of the inscription. Photo By Giovanni Dall’Orto – Own work, Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3926530

May There Be

For the hungry and the thirsty,
for the for the poor and for the meek,
for the blind man crying, “Mercy!”
saying, “Lord, I want to see,”
when the skies rain down a savior,
when he gathers east and west,
may there be a great high table
where the least have all the best.

For the robber robed in splendor,
for the beggar at the gate,
for the last man in the vineyard,
for the bridesmaids coming late,
when the bread of heaven's broken,
when the saints go marching in,
may there be a door left open
as the wedding feast begins.

For the desperate and down-hearted,
for the captive and the bound,
for the ones who dwell in darkness,
all those waiting to be found,
when the shepherd comes to free them,
when the nights gives way to dawn,
in the loving arms of Jesus,
may we find the light goes on.

Late Roman marble copy of the Kriophoros of Kalamis (Museo Barracco, Rome) By No machine-readable author provided. Tetraktys assumed (based on copyright claims). – No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9811227

Already Drawing Near

Though no one can say when it's coming,
for no one can see it appear,
the kingdom of God is among us.
The savior already draws near.

He hungers in all of the hungry;
in every dry throat does he thirst,
and all that we do is done to him.
In all of our wounds he is hurt.

But we have not learned how to see him—
O come, Son of Man, touch our eyes
to know you in all that we meet here.
O wisdom of God, make us wise

to weep with your children in sorrow,
to shelter your flock from the cold.
O dawn from on high, break our darkness
and light the way into your fold.

For there you will set a great table
and call us all into the feast—
but here let us feed you, O Savior,
yourself in the last and the least.

And thus, we will learn how to hear you:
O David's Son, lift up your voice
to heal us and let us draw near you.
Lord, shepherd us into your joy!

The Sarcophagus of Marcus Claudianus (ca. 330-335, Palazzo Massimo, Rome): Detail, a harvester. The figure directly to the left of the decedent’s portrait is a man harvesting wheat. Paired with the vintage on the right, this is possibly a Eucharistic reference. Photo By Dick Stracke – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31956395

Kingdom

Jesus said to the crowds:
“This is how it is with the kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and through it all the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come.”
He said,
“To what shall we compare the kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
—Mark 4:26-34

The kingdom of God's a little seed;
no one thought it came to much,
but it grows beyond what we can see
into everlasting love.

It fell to the ground: We thought it lost
like the leaves of yesteryear.
It woke and it grew—how, we knew not—
first the blade and then the ear.

When we cut it down the grain was ripe,
and it fell like one who's dead,
but we lift it up with rich red wine,
and we live on broken bread.

And the beggars from the byways eat
where the kings cast off their robes,
and the tax collectors take their seats,
and we all of us come home.

The birds of the sky will take their rest
where the branches spread out broad,
in the shade where the swallow builds her nest,
in the kingdom of our God.

Identifier: wildlifeoforchar00inge (find matches) Title: Wild life of orchard and field; Year: 1902 (1900s) Authors: Ingersoll, Ernest, 1852-1946 Subjects: Animal behavior Publisher: (New York London) Harper & brothers Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry By Internet Archive Book Images – https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14761113296/Source book page: https://archive.org/stream/wildlifeoforchar00inge/wildlifeoforchar00inge#page/n188/mode/1up, No restrictions, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43688808

First the Blade

He said, “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.”
Mark 4:26-29

First the harrow, then the plow
turns and opens barren fields
where the seeds are trampled down
into wounds the sun will heal.

First the shoot and then the leaf
pierce the earth to catch the rain,
turning all this dead world green,
springing up to life again.

First the sprouting, then the growth
prophesying joy to come,
bounty pledging summer's troth
while the length'ning days run on.

First the blade and then the ear,
then the grain comes, rip'ning gold,
to the harvest of the year,
to the feast so long foretold.

First creation's sixfold day,
then the years' repeating rounds:
Death and life eachother chase
'til the final sun goes down,

then out of the ling'ring gloom
comes the day that will not end.
Seeds sprout up from every tomb.
Winter will not come again.

By User:Bluemoose – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=333105

Sparks

We live in one unending night
where thieves and brigands roam,
yet do we walk in endless light
whereby we see our home

and kindle from its hearth a flame
to guide us through the dark.
We take our measure and our aim
by that undying spark.

But staring ever at the light,
our vision blurs and swims
'til we see colors in the night,
and in all faces, him.

A weary world we see renewed,
redemption born of scars,
a thief who comes to do us good,
the night aswarm with stars

where every spark is, too, a seam
as earth and heaven touch,
and pouring through each tiny gleam
the kingdom come of love.

O Christ, feed all our little flames
until your sun shall rise.
Give us the eyes to see your day
in lanterns lifted high.

15th-century candle lantern from Germany, perforated metal By Wolfgang Sauber – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12738703

Psalm 46

Riffing on Psalm 46:

Come, O Lord: The earth is shaken,
mountains falling to their knees.
All we thought we knew is breaking
with the raging of the seas.
Be our refuge and our shelter;
be our help in troubled days.
Let the earth be still your dwelling,
through the bloody wars we wage.

See, O Lord, how we hold nothing:
Only you can fill that void.
In our need, we fight for somethings
until everything's destroyed.
Look on us, the weak and thirsty;
see us wounded, hungry ones
aching for the taste of mercy,
yearning 'til your kingdom comes.

Speak, O Lord: Your word is power.
Break the bow and bend the spear.
Turn the bloodied swords to plowshares
with the whisper of “Be still!”
Turn our battlefields to gardens;
turn our famines into feasts.
Come at last to reap your harvest
with the implements of peace.

Rapier By Rama – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4359923

The Kingdom of God

The kingdom of God is among you,
as it was in Jerusalem's streets,
when donkeys left mountains of dung there
for Jesus to wash from our feet.

For thus it was in the beginning,
and thus evermore it shall be:
He comes in the midst of our sinning,
when light's what we most need to see.

The God who made mountains and molehills,
who could have made mints and machines,
rolled us from the dust like  Marlboro,
lit us with the spark of his being.

So into the dust he came rolling
to wallow in what he had made,
and hallow the ash of our smoking,
and roll us back out of the grave.

And who'll wash his feet in our mudbath?
We can't even untie his shoes,
but, oh, we will give him a bloodbath,
and, oh, he will make us brand new.

It's into the midst of this circus,
this mess that's not fit to be seen,
he comes when we most need his mercy,
he comes, and he makes the dust clean.

Icon of Jesus Christ, last quarter of the 15 th century, in St. George church in Struga, Macedonia By Unknown author – Охридско-струшки иконописни траги од втората половина на 15 век, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15822920

And Did You Not Look Back?

And to another he said, “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead.
But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
And another said, “I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home.”
To him Jesus said, “No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9: 51-62

You set your hand upon the plow
and walked the furrowed track;
from heav'n to hell the road ran down,
and did you not look back?

From highest throne you sank to this:
no place to lay your head.
You left behind the Father's bliss,
as dead t'embrace the dead.

And did you never know regret
or wish the days rewound
to timelessness you'd not yet left
to till the barren ground?

For I could follow you in that,
in looking far behind.
On this relentless forward path,
what mercy can I find?

And mercy is my only hope,
unready as I am
to travel with you on the road
to face Jerusalem.

Forgive my lagging steps, my God,
and give me greater strength
to lift my eyes and look ahead
and love the journey's length.

Give me the courage, O my Lord,
to trail you to the grave,
if not with valor, then with myrrh,
though I should come but late.

Ancient Egyptian ard, c. 1200 BC. (Burial chamber of Sennedjem) By Painter of the burial chamber of Sennedjem – The Yorck Project (2002) 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei (DVD-ROM), distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH. ISBN: 3936122202., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=154346

Here Is the Servant of the Lord

Thus says the LORD:
Here is my servant whom I uphold,
     my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
upon whom I have put my spirit;
     he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
not crying out, not shouting,
     not making his voice heard in the street.
a bruised reed he shall not break,
     and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
until he establishes justice on the earth;
     the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
     I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
     as a covenant of the people,
     a light for the nations,
to open the eyes of the blind,
     to bring out prisoners from confinement,
     and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7

Here is the servant of the Lord,
God's chosen one who comes as king.
In victory he lifts no sword,
but everlasting peace he brings.

Instead of spears, he bears bruised reeds
and smold'ring wicks instead of flame.
Behold the army that he leads:
a vanguard of the blind and lame!

No weapon for his empty hands,
he leads the ones of little worth,
but nothing hinders their advance
until his justice fills the earth.

And as they go, they open doors:
Our dungeons empty in their wake,
and good news reaches all the poor,
as mercy's light upon them breaks.

This is the Lord's anointed one,
and shall we, too, lay down our arms
to follow God's beloved Son
into the kingdom that has come?

The covenant of God and world,
he calls us with a quiet voice
to leave our darkness and come forth
into a light where all rejoice.