Poetry
An Early Spring Blessing
by Nancy Corson Carter
Through bare trees,
faint constellations
glitter across
light-years of distance.
I think of the James Webb
Space Telescope photos:
their whorls of brilliance
from the birth of life
display like
blooming jewels.
Out here on the cold porch,
burdened by fears and yearnings
in a berserking world,
I take deep breaths and pray:
May the stars be my advocates
before the Maker of All
whose love leads us
to learn from the dark
and to rejoice in the light.
PRAY
by Nancy Corson Carter
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in
everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your request to God.”
2 Philippians 4: 6-7
Today, on Veteran’s Day, I am typing, as always
with two arms, one a gift of my vet-Dad’s
bone graft; I wish to leaven each prayer and
petition I make with such thanksgiving.
I count all the loves I want to bless:
they cover my fears with kindness;
they remind me that anxiety is
a desolation in the midst of plenty.
I ask for forgiveness when I ignore
the soft white flowers’ fragrance
the blue butterfly on wet rocks
the tears and laughter of children.
When I feel cast down . . . unlovely,
I hopefully pray to the God-Child-Man
who is loveliest of all,
the dancer of Light in my darkest days.
New temple
by Steve Garnaas-Holmes
The days will come
when not one stone will be left upon another;
all will be thrown down....
This will give you an opportunity to testify.
—Luke 21.6, 13
Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
—John 2.19
Let go of human things;
hang onto God.
•
When sacred structures fall apart,
the Holy Presence will dwell in us ourselves.
•
When people can no longer find forgiveness
in old systems,
the community of faith itself
will have to bear forgiveness to them.
•
No single stone is sacred;
they are all needed to make a temple.
Stay connected.
•
Don't expect society to go your way.
Bear witness to another Way.
•
When the temple falls
we become the temple.
•
When the world around you descends into darkness,
you can still shine with light.
•
The reason you were born,
the purpose for which God brought you into this world,
is to bear God's forgiving presence
in a world that is desperate for it.
