Poem – Christ is risen, but

It’s been a rough year for my family as we rethink Church, our theology, and the purpose of community. If that makes it sound like everything is on the table at our house, well, it is.

A few Sundays ago, with the blessing of our current pastors, we began visiting other churches to get a sense of the full body of Christ. It’s a balance to visit like this without sacrificing community. (And what is community again? I’m not sure I know anymore, but Jesuit Rt Hon John Battle MP has some incredible thoughts on community.)

With all respect to Robert Bruce, we visited First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville where the liturgical worship service was filled with a sense of holiness. Everything about the service spoke a quiet and confident message that this was a time and a place set apart for something very specific and symbolic. They were good people. John Wurster’s sermon inspired some of the “poetry notes” that I take from time to time. It’s like doodling with words:

Christ Is Risen, But

I’m certain that worms dig tunnels,
crawl in, crawl out of the doubter’s mouth.
Without questions, we never find answers.
Without decay, life is not renewed.
Faith doesn’t turn tadpoles into frogs,
And worms spin cocoons from doubt, not hope,
stitching themselves into darkness, disbelieving
(for joy) their uncertain metamorphosis
that wraps them up in sticky wings. Wonder

disturbs the best sales pitch, confident
of promised flight in open Sopwith Camels.
The barnstormer’s stick shifts between
our legs, guided by the unseen mover
whose feet lower flaps until we loop,
lose our stomachs, our whoop lost in
the rushing wind. Where the mystery is
too great, give us flesh.

Except for poems, I’m pulling out of social media sabbatical for awhile. You’re welcome to comment or contact me. I may respond via email if I get a chance. But I’ll still be here, sitting with the Jesuits, and continuing to post the odd little poem once a week on Tuesday. Promise.

Related articles by Zemanta

• RAP: Slow down, look around (highcallingblogs.com)
• Poem of the week: Humilitie (guardian.co.uk)
• 8 poets for National Poety Month (goodwordediting.com)
• Sunday Poem (3quarksdaily.com)
• One Forty Six Three (knifegunpen.com)
• Churches are not grocery stores (goodwordediting.com)
• The Functional Body, Part 1 (TheHighCalling.org)
• Covenant Stories: A Delightful Collection of Misfits (highcallingblogs.com)

Tagged as: Body of Christ, Christian Church, christianity, Presbyterianism, Religion and Spirituality