The Light

Not theologically correct for Holy Week, but it’s been a while since I cared much about being theologically correct. The song moves me — though I’m less fond of the heteronormative story the video tells.

Lyrics by Disturbed

Like an unsung melody
The truth is waiting there for you to find it
It’s not a blight, but a remedy,
A clear reminder of how it began
Deep inside your memory
Turned away as you struggled to find it
You heard the call as you walked away
A voice of calm from within the silence
And for what seemed an eternity
You wait and hoping it would call out again
You heard the shadow beckoning
Then your fears seemed to keep you blinded
You held your guard as you walked away

Advertisement

Ready.

What a year 2013 has been
in the last hours of this year
I’ve been reflecting n talking
2 those close n dear 2 me
around ministry, family bio n extended
n my place in the world…

1thing I know is that
thru everything
the good the bad n even the real real ugly
that transpired in my life
and on my journey in 2013
I never lost my Praise…

We Gather

by Louis Mitchell

We gather to remember
Your vibrant light & your soaring laughter
We gather to remember
The hands you held & lives you touched
We gather to remember
Your uncommon tenderness & your unwavering strength
We gather to remember
The sunrises that we greeted in revelry & the sunsets that we christened with our tears.

Love Thyself: Exodus, Trinity, and OtherWise

The Rev. Dr. Kelli Brown Douglas manages to sum up several threads of what I call OtherWise — woven right up in there among that (annoying) Christian theology (which I can neither tolerate nor ignore).

To move to be free.

To vision beyond the binary
to see what is really there.

To address privilege
and be in solidarity
with the crucified of our time.

Dear you who needs this tonight

Dear you who needs this tonight–

I know it’s hard.
It’s always and not always hard.
I see you.
It’s worth it.
Struggle.
Survive.
The rest of our stories don’t want to go on without you.
Forget the excuses and forgive your mistakes.
There’s not enough time and we are too small and godlike to be petty.
Glow.
Shine.

All you need ever be is light–and when you can only manage to recognize the dark know that we are here.
Waiting for you.
Reaching for you.
Stretching out with arms and love made of that light.
Last long enough to reach us.
We will hold you and nurture your Strong.
We can do this–together.

I may not know you,
but I can promise you with all sincerity
that I am here and I have love for you.

I’ll see you in the morning for breakfast.
Find peace.
Love.
Always and deeply love.

© 2016 Susan M. Peiffer. All rights reserved. Published with permission of the author.

Breathing

We cannot be who we are,
we cannot become who we are intended to become,
without breathing properly.

~ Omid Safi

Nothing here
to see me,
feel me.

Nothing here
to bear witness
to evolutions.

Nothing here
but breath
and spirit.

Emptiness.

Awareness of self.
Weariness and limitation.
Small and tired.

The Quiet

The statistics
take an accounting
but
without our spirits
remind us of possibilities
lost.

The stories
try to remember
but
without your touch
remind us of the distance
untranslated.

The silences
pretend to listen
but
without keeping company
remind us of the loneliness
gathering.

Disappearing

Sometimes
People disappear
Without admitting that they have left

Maybe we should have
Spoken more honestly
Before it was too late

Maybe you never knew that
I wanted you with
All your
Twists
And contradictions.

The Invitation

The Invitation
by Oriah

It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.

In the Night

Who
comes
to you
in the night?

The living
or the dead?
Who holds you close?

These reports
can’t hold
the lives
of those we’ve lost.
Not like a broken heart.