Good Friday Poem

When Jesus came to Golgotha
they nailed Him on a tree
they crowned Him with a crown of thorns
red were His wounds and deep
For those were crude and cruel days
when human flesh was cheap.

When Jesus came to our modern world
they only passed Him by
they would not hurt of hair of His
they only let Him die
for men had grown more tender then
they would not give Him pain
they only just passed down the street
and left Him in the rain.

And so it rained, a wintry rain
which drenched Him through and through
and when all the crowd had left the streets
without a soul to see
then Jesus crouched against a wall
and LONGED FOR CALVARY

Unity and Diversity

I have often perceived that the central motto or anthem of our present age, and within our western culture is "diversity". It is interesting to me that this is so. While it is obvious that God has placed an elemental diversity in all of creation, and one which is very glorious to behold, yet at the same time, within human existence the ideal of diversity carries something of a caveat. In Scripture we find a story, within early salvation history, of a people who sought to build a tower to the heavens as a grand ambition. God saw this happening, and saw that it was being carried out impiously. Man sought to glorify only himself through this. In punishment, God divided their language, so that they could not communicate well, one with another. Harmony was lost and their earthly ambitions failed miserably within the morass of individualism and self centered futility. In other words, a measure of diversity was given as a punishment. Also, when Moses was confounded in his leadership of the Israelite community by their lack of docility he would exclaim "every man to his own tent"! This too implies a punishment.
Original Sin, whether one chooses to believe in it or not, is at the heart of this scriptural reflection. One of the main currents flowing from the fall of man, into the lives of all descendants of Adam, is that current which flows into a self centered individualism. When Jesus comes on the scene, He orients his disciples to a "narrow way" which He would teach and which was to be "conformed" to. It is my belief that, in order to come to our proper and essential diversity, we must seek to conform to a pattern....and that pattern is found in the Personality of Christ. It is well for us to study the Gospels, especially the beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount in order to learn God's narrow way. Diversity is a major facet of God's beautiful creation. Because of Original Sin, we are not well equipped to become what we are meant to be. We error and contribute more to a general chaos than to a Godly harmony. What is being called for and promoted in this blog entry is self knowledge leading to a realized need of Divine Assistance...and this is a precious gift from God to be prayed for profoundly. Jesus speaks, "Narrow is the way to salvation, and few there are that find it".

Reciprocity in Nature

The title of this blog entry certainly sounds philosophical. However the content is especially simple and comprehensible. The main point being made here is that we live in a universe of intelligent design. This does not imply merely that the order of things visible is intelligent, in some latent fashion, but rather that there is a living and active intelligence at work in all creation. Our Dynamic God is immanent in His handiwork.

Our relationship to all of created nature must be loving, respectful and nurturing. In my relationship to my two dogs, Charlie and Elijah, I can see how this attitude fosters symbiosis, harmony and happiness. Charlie and Elijah know that I love them, that I trust them, that I am gentle and playful. In response to this they are most loyal and seek to please me in accord with their capacities. We are filled with joy in each others presence. I believe that deep down inside, because of the good quality and nature of our relationship, we are healthfully nurtured from this in body and spirit. They are holistically good for me and I for them.

Back in 1988, Pope John Paul II wrote an encyclical entitled: On Social Concern. In this he raised to the level of a serious moral issue the subject of environmental concern and stewardship. What this means is that we will reap what we sow in our relationship to the created world around us. I'm not a huge proponent of the message of "Global Warming", but I do believe there is some truth in it. It is just that this is a slow process of cause and effect and therefore hard to clearly and unequivocally evidence. Noxious gases and pollutants, when disproportionately placed into a balanced harmony will likely have an effect. The world, with reference to the intelligence placed within it, will war against those who pollute it. This is a LIVING dynamic. Fish and insects among other creatures, it is my speculation, which suffer harm from toxins produced inharmoniously by mankind, will absorb such toxins and produce and introduce what is harmful or deadly for mankind. This is a theory obviously. But one which I find most compelling.

The Holy Spirit, when truly and fruitfully lived, will lead us to a relationship of reciprocal concern and cautious reverence towards the earth and the cosmos. This is an attribute of Supernatural Justice and we who abide in the Love, which is God, must seek to desire deeply and safeguard this attribute. God knows those who truly belong to Him, through the gentle, contemplative, cautious and solicitous character of their souls in relation to His creation, which in truth is an extension of the Divine personality.

Lent: A Ripening Journey

One of the outcomes of the "coming of age" in the natural evolution of things human and rational is the frequent perception that "nothing surprises me anymore" or "nothing on this earth deeply excites me anymore". Doesn't that sound morbid? One might call this the "dumbing down of earthly idealism". Early in life, one might have been able to summon up a great deal of zeal and zest in pursuit of some sort of attractive goal. We climb. We climb further. We get somewhere. We grow old. We die. As the writer of Ecclesiastes once put it: "there is nothing new under the sun". But, here again, from a faith perspective, there is an upside to this dynamic. As we grow diminished in our relish for "temporal" life, we become more predisposed and resigned to what is ultimate and lasting. It has been said that: "hour by hour we ripe and ripe, hour by hour we rot and rot." It is the thrill of ripening that motivates this particular blog entry. We ripen to the depths as we lose our savor for all that is essentially unsatisfying. We find joy, inner peace and fulfillment through our understanding of where true happiness lies. This is a key component for our spiritual maturation. We become ready. It might even be said that we are fully ripe when we don't want to be here anymore. We want to be home with God. We pray, we long, we weep, we surrender, and suddenly we apprehend an ocean of gratitude in ourselves. It is only the most profound expression and realization of Homecoming Harvest that we seek, even as God the Giver of Grace is our Personal Gardener.