Let There Be a Song

Posted on by Rev. Eric Anderson

IMG_4464Let there be a song in my heart, Lord,
so I may be inspired.

Let there be a song in my limbs, Lord,
so I may be empowered.

Let there be a song in my soul, Lord,
so I may be redeemed.

Let there be a song in my ears, Lord,
so I may be in harmony.

Let there be a song in my fingers, Lord,
so I may be light in touch.

Let there be a song in my lips, Lord,
so you may hear and smile.

A poem/prayer based on Ephesians 5:15-20, the Revised Common Lectionary Epistle reading for Year B, Proper 15.

Photo by Eric Anderson

 

Imitatio Dei

Posted on by Rev. Eric Anderson

B_Sabbatini_Kräizwee6

“Therefore be imitators of God,
as beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us…”

In these days, Jesus? Really?

As press and presidents declaim,
“You speak untruth!”
As anger/outrage/ire dominate
our “civil” civic discourse.
As we enshrine successful thieves,
incarcerating petty ones,
and pay as little as we may
to those who work the hardest.
As we elect those who speak evil,
can we be shocked when they speak evil
over and over and over,
can we be shocked when they do evil
over and over and over,
can we be shocked when “little” evils
become our harsh new “normal?”

When bitterness and wrath and anger,
wrangling, slander, all the breadth of malice
take the center role,
how can we honestly believe, O Christ,
in imitatio dei?

Would you imprison children?
Would you reject the refugee?
Would you enrich the rich?
Would you empower the white?
Would you disenfranchise the woman?
Would you bring death to the guilty?
Would you bring death to the innocent?

“…And live in love, as Christ loved us,
and gave himself up for us…”

Imitatio dei?
I feel more like an imitation…

A poem/prayer based on Ephesians 4:25-5:2, the Revised Common Lectionary Epistle reading for Year B, Proper 14.

The image is of “Jesus falls” from the Stations of the Cross in Église Saints-Pierre-et-Paul (Bertrange) by Bettina Scholl-Sabbatini. Photo by Sultan Edijingo – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49262753

What Should I Ask?

Posted on by Rev. Eric Anderson

Korb_mit_Brötchen

It wasn’t enough, you said,
to ask what you were doing here
(though that’s a loaded question,
to be sure).

“You didn’t come for me,” you said:
“You came for bread.”

But did you not direct us in
that famous prayer of yours to do
just that? “Give us this day
our daily bread.” Did not
your ancient people pray for bread,
emerging from their tents each morn
to gather manna from the ground?

It wasn’t enough, you said, to ask
what works we should be doing, lives
we should be working, bread
we should be gathering. “Seek for
the bread which comes from heaven!”

What can I do but join the crowd and say,
“Sir, give us this bread always”?

Is that enough? It’s not?

You are the bread of life. Well, then,
the only question I can ask is this:

“Oh, Jesus, would you, can you, won’t you
give me you, and you, and you
this day and always?” Yes:
and give us this bread always.

What other question could I ask?
What other gift would you present?

A poem/prayer based on John 6:24-35, the Revised Common Lectionary Gospel reading for Year B, Proper 13.

The photo is “Frühstückskorb mit Brötchen” by 3268zauber – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4298187

All the Reasons

Posted on by Rev. Eric Anderson

Wilpert_028

For the love of Peter, Jesus
(not you, Simon, it’s just an expression,
for Pete’s sake—no, seriously, Peter,
not you!), Jesus, are you kidding?

Feed all these people? Feed
this multitude? With what?
“Where are we to buy bread?”
you ask. Oh, that’s a good one.
With what will we buy bread?
That’s even better. Now listen,
Jesus, and I’ll tell you
just what a Bad Idea this is.

First: Feed these people here,
and all you’ll be is “Jesus, bread-provider”
to them ever after. Heck, they’ll follow
you right on across this lake
as long as you’ll provide a meal
when they arrive. Come on!

These people are responsible adults.
Their hunger is their own affair.
They could have brought their meals:
Why, look what Andrew’s found!
A boy with better sense than all
these adults put together.
He brought his dinner. Let
them go and feed themselves.

Second: Now, you think you’ll make
stone soup? Oh, that’s a fairy tale.
I know I just called them all
responsible adults, but sure, that’s true
and false in every way that makes
a difference. Somewhere in this crowd
there’s probably another lad with sense
(or whose mother had the sense, more likely),
a girl with bread, a woman with cake,
but I don’t see another volunteer
with contributions for this meal.

Besides: who comes up to a hillside
carrying the makings of “stone soup?”
I guarantee you there’s no onions, there’s
no lentils, there’s no herbs, there’s
no chicken hiding in their bags. Oh,
and one more thing, my friend:
We didn’t bring a pot.

Third. We’re broke. And fourth,
we’re broke, and fifth (and if you
missed it when I said it twice),
sweet Jesus Christ, We’re broke.

The sum of all our wealth are these
five loaves, and these two fish,
and (pardon, please, this pun),
as we stand high upon this hillside,
I think the fish are smelling higher still.

That’s it. Five loaves. Two questionable
fish. That’s it. That’s all. That’s just…

Enough.

A poem/prayer based on John 6:1-21, the Revised Common Lectionary Gospel reading for Year B, Proper 12.

The image is of a fresco in the Catacomb of Callistus, Rome.

If at First…

Posted on by Rev. Eric Anderson

Marlenheim_SteRicharde06Well.
That didn’t work.
I thought it might.
I thought it should.
And, well…
(OK, I thought it might not, too)
It didn’t.

So.

It’s comforting to know, my friend,
That you had bad days, too.
Remember Nazareth? Oh, my!
All the things you couldn’t do.
Yes, the things you couldn’t do.
Amazing (yes, your word), it was
Simply amazing.

So.

What if I take a page from out your book
(that’s from The Book, you know),
And gather up a team next time?
“Hey, followers! The class is done:
Now do the work your Teacher does.”

So.

Not One
(Even your amazing One).
Not just that inner group
Of Peter, James, and John
(and Mary and Mary and Salome).
Not just the Twelve,
But all I can (we can) inspire
And teach to be your body,
Do your work, love your love,
Shower your grace.

So.

If at first I don’t succeed, then…

We
Try
Again.

A prayer based on Mark 6:1-13, the Revised Common Lectionary Gospel reading for Year B, Proper 9.

The sculpture of “Christ with the apostles Peter and Paul” is found in Alsace, Bas-Rhin, France, on the Église Sainte-Richarde de Marlenheim. Photo by © Ralph Hammann – Wikimedia Commons – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18639532

Is This the Time?

Posted on by Rev. Eric Anderson

For some who wonder
now, “Where is life’s
boundary?” The one who
wakes, confused, with speech
no one can understand,
and moans in
sleep; the spouse who
watches (he once
watched) to guess the tide of
life; the son who’s near,
the son who’s far; the
grandson and
granddaughter who
have lost two grandparents they
knew, and one they
never knew; the sister,
nieces, nephews, cousins.

Beyond the Jordan, do they
know? Do they know, is this their
time for love’s reunion?
Mother, father, wife, and
sister: they await.

Here, in tears, we ask:
“Is this the time?”

#prayer

Written on June 25, 2018, as we wondered whether my father was approaching his last days.

If I Could Only Touch

Posted on by Rev. Eric Anderson

Byzantine_Mozaic_Italy6c-1

If I could only touch… Not grasp.
If I could only touch…

Would my loved ones be healed?

If I could only touch… Not hold.
If I could only touch…

Would my nation release the children it imprisons?

If I could only touch… Not seize.
If I could only touch…

Would my nation welcome refugees?

If I could only touch… Not clutch.
If I could only touch…

Would my heart swell with courage?
And power?
And grace?

If I could only touch?

A prayer based on Mark 5:21-43, the Gospel Lesson for Year B, Proper 8.

The image is of the woman touching Jesus’ hem, a sixth century mosaic found in the Church of Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy.