Tag: love

2015.09.18: immortality

For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it. – 1 Tim 6:7

nothing can take away
the faith that carried me
through the valleys
the purity of joy
on the mountain tops
nor the hope
that when the great darkness comes
the brightest light will follow
for if all else fails
the love the i’ve experienced
the love that i’ve poured out
is enough
for eternity

to love
and to have been loved
unabashedly
unconditionally
without reservations
that is immortality
a taste of the divine

2015.09.03: feasting or fasting

Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” – Lk 5:34-35

mindless mouthing of rote prayers
and following regimens of fasting
never brought me closer to God

only in accepting my own powerlessness
and abandoning myself to his mercy
did i find myself in his presence

everyday with him is a feast
everyday without him is fasting
and wailing and grinding of teeth

no amount of praying and fasting
or blood sacrifices or bunt offerings
will reconcile us to God

still the choice is always ours
to accept his love and feast in his presence
or assail heaven will fasting and praying

2015.09.02: trust

I, like a green olive tree flourishing in the house of God,
Trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. – Ps 52:10

not in the words of the preacher
not in the promises of the officials
not in the power of the wealthy
not in the influence of the celebrities
not in the knowledge of the scientists
not in the truth of the philosophers
not in the wisdom of the theologians
not in the feats of the heroes
not in the works of the saints
not in my own works
not in my own sacrifices
not in anything on my own merit
my trust is only in the mercy of God
and his boundless love flowing
from the wounds in his body

2015.08.21: the answer

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” – Mt 22:36

the answer has always been
love – the verb
and not love – the noun

love is not a noun
an idea : ideal : concept
something to inscribe on a scroll
and hang on a wall
love is not a feeling or sentiment
to espouse in an essay
or glorify in a poem

love is an action verb
it has a subject and an object
it implies an action by the subject
and a reaction by the object
it implies a transformation
where the object becomes the subject
it implies transactions
it implies multiple transactions
it implies a relationship
between the subject and object

yet
if the heart is hardened
if one does not love
it does not matter what the law is
or what the prophet proclaims
the mouth may speak the law
but the actions do not

the answer has always been
love – the action verb
hence the incarnation
the transfiguration
the crucifixion
the resurrection
these are all acts of love
not commandments chiseled
on stone tablets
to be lost to the ages

the answer is loving

2015.07.12: the key

as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love – Eph 1:4

the key to all things
has always been love
ever since the beginning
when we were all chosen

we were given to him
and he was given to us
but we were also given
the freedom to choose

to believe or not believe
to trust or not trust
to follow or not follow
to love or not to love

we were chosen in love
will we choose to love?
the key to being holy
will always be love