Email Link
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
It's Ash Wednesday and our son comes back from Grandma's tomorrow. He will have gotten his ashes and attended services – and it will be time for the three of us to sit down and talk about how we want to shape our Lenten experience this year. A friend has already told Mark Anthony, age 7, that he must give something up for Lent and he, apparently, agreed to giving up sweets (except for chocolate, he explained.)
We have something a little different in mind. It will be interesting to see if Mark Anthony takes to it easily. This practice is something his father, Mark, and I aspire to – and even practice when we remember. This year, however, we want to be more intentional and teach each other. while practicing it as our Lenten family discipline: The discipline of just noticing.
'Just noticing?' Just noticing what? That doesn't sound very spiritual. It certainly doesn't seem active or sound like a discipline at all, at least not in the way we usually think of it. And yet 'just noticing' can be an amazing way to deepen and develop our relationships to God, individually and as a family. It can be an amazing way to deepen and develop our relationship with God in and through each other. In fact, it can affect everything we do and everyone we encounter.
How? First let me describe the context: The context is a busy family life. Our lives are a kind of choreographed chaos of daily parenting routines such as drop off and pick up from school, sports, snack, homework, dinnertime, laundry, reading, and bedtime rituals. That's a lot for a young child and can feel like a lot for parents like us, with very busy jobs of planning, writing, speaking, counseling, and, for Mark, being available for others at unexpected times and at short notice.
It is precisely because of the busy-ness that the practice of 'just noticing' can be a powerful Lenten discipline for our family. The idea behind the discipline is to notice where God has been moving in the everyday, ordinary business of our lives each day. Simple, not painful or difficult. And yet it is not easy, either.
The plan is to spend 10 minutes each night before Mark Anthony's bedtime, after he is washed and dressed and lying in bed, reviewing the events and the feelings of the day. St. Ignatius taught a far less simple form of this practice called an 'examen.' For us, we want to do a brief one – to spend a few minutes being still with God and with each other, letting go of some of the noise of the day and tuning in to the presence of God. Then, we'd take turns sharing. Do we begin with where we have 'sinned?' Not at all. We'd just 'play the day back' together, sharing:
1) where we noticed we were gifted by God during the day (e.g., something good like a call from an old friend, a new friend at school, a supportive colleague when we felt disheartened, new snow for sledding, etc),
2) what feelings we experienced during the day and when (e.g., joy at making the winning basket, disappointment that it took 20 minutes for our son to focus on brushing his teeth, sadness over a lost friend, pride over learning that Mark Anthony helped an immigrant Japanese girl with her work at school, excitement over an art project, gratitude for a job well done, peace, etc.) and
3) where we think God may have been trying to communicate with us during the day in these events and thoughts and feelings. Perhaps there was something we hadn't noticed at the time. Was there something God might have been trying to show us? Was there something we might have done better? Could we have loved more?
So, our Lenten discipline will be the practice of just noticing God in our daily lives, so that we stay in touch with God's presence. In the midst of the dailiness, we will take time out to review and wonder... and savor, and, hopefully, grow together in awareness and immense gratitude. This may just be “the best Lent ever.” -kbj
Feature photo courtesy of roland via flickr.
Eight days later (don’t you hate days like that?)
After Mr. Rock, aka Simon/Peter, called
Jesus the Christ (got that right)
Jesus took him and the thunder boys (James and John)
Up the mountain to check out the view, aka pray
And while he was praying
(see what can happen when you pray?)
Jesus’ face changed, his clothes dazzled white
Moses and Elijah appeared (I presume from somewhere)
They appeared in glory
They saw his glory
Glory meeting glory: alleluia
Peter and his companions (afraid to list John and James twice?)
Weighed down with sleep (depression was always around)
However, they saw his glory and the two men with him
Not sure if they saw their glory
Did they see their glory?
either way: alleluia
As they were leaving (always pay attention to what people say when they are leaving):
Let us make three dwellings
Then a cloud, then an overshadowing, then terror, then an entering (ooooo)
Then a voice:
This is my Son, my Chosen, Listen to him
If you are not listening after all this then…
Jesus was found alone by the lost disciples
They kept silent and told no one
Man, the things that happened in those days…
The Christian Life: wonder if there is any way of faking it? Do you think people set out to fake the Christian life deliberately? DO you think it is nature or nurture? Are some people just genuinely cool, good, holy, peaceful, calm and ethical? Are some people just depressed, prone to lines, prone to cheating, prone to deceptive actions, cynical, disturbed and or evil? By the way remember the words of Jesus (and the reversals in Luke: rich/poor; first/last; lost/found -- life is never what we see on the inside or outside).
Funny, the hardest place to work these days is in a church. Good Lord. I meet so many parishioners, clergy, and volunteers who have had it: about to quit or on the verge of a nervous breakdown. “It is like a jungle sometimes, makes you wonder how I keep from going under.”
This is life and the Christian life is no different. People feel like this in every time and place – I am not making this up. LOL.
Viagra: I know I have your attention with this one. I get ten email offers for this every day. And talking to a nun friend of mine the other day, she also gets them and various other offers to become “larger than life.” And Viagra offers are only outdone by “pain killers”. Is it that hard out there? I mean – oh dear? LOL.
Spandex: Yes, these days you can have the body you want. There is a whole market now of spandex clothing for men. We all can look firm, look fit, look buffed, look developed, look sexy, look dazzling (white?) – just don’t ever take off your clothes. There was a woman in my sponsoring parish in Massachusetts who used to say of her female neighbors, “She has gone to lump!” I should have said, “Spandex offers salvation.”
Transfiguration: It happened at prayer or after prayer or during prayer. It happened before the disciples fell asleep or maybe it prevented them from falling asleep. And then it was accompanied by the voice of God. Maybe the transfiguration happened while Jesus was being himself or maybe it was just what was needed for him to be himself.
Luckily, we have high grain cereals, vitamins, bottled water, television, drugs (legal, prescribed, illegal and homeopathic), we have plastic surgery, body surgery, spandex, Viagra and when all else fails we have the church and the Christian life. Go transfigure yourself (in and or out).
When the saints go marching in
When the saints go marching in
When you go marching
When the saints go marching in
Lord, I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
When the unpredictable comes
When the unpredictable comes
When the saints go marching in
Lord, I want to be in that number
When the unpredictable comes
When there is no more war
No more sickness
The poor have what they need
Celebrations sing and sing
When you go marching
Lord, I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
Rejoicing drown out tears
When the saints go marching in
No more children dying
No children crying
When the saints go marching in
Lord, I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
So the president is talking to his enemies, to those who do not agree with him, to those who are different and to those who dislike his policies. He learned that from Jesus. President Obama is doing an excellent thing by having open discussions with Republicans. Now, there is no guarantee that people seeing the same thing will report and believe the same thing. He will win some and lose some. Overall, I think it is a good thing. And I congratulate the president, because that is indeed an act that represents change. Jesus spoke with the sinner, the righteous, the Pharisee and the Sadducees all the time… Why change that?
It is a whole different political world out there. There are some crazy patterns forming reminiscent of things in the past. However, for every movement of darkness, fear, prejudice, and bad behavior there has been a counteracting movement of truth, love, hope and peace. So be not afraid, I say that to myself, too. I need to hear that—that we need not fear—in the midst of rumors and rumors of crashing, warring, losing, hating; yes, rumors of war…
Who dat? Those Saints. Do I say more? Who dat? 144. Thousands more. Who dat? Those Saints. After Katrina? Who dat? Losses and losses. Who dat? Those saints. Katrina leads to celebration. Rejected, unknown, doubted team members – who dat? Dem Saints. Wow. Let that be a lesson for us all. Go folks of that great city and state: Who dat?
Maybe what happened for the Saints can and will happen for the people of Haiti. This is what we believe and this is what we hope. History tells us that reversals exist, and I believe one day Haiti will turn over a new leaf. There will be permanent celebrations of new life… I was just in Boston and had two Haitian taxi drivers.
The first taxi driver kept saying: “In six seconds, 200,000 people dead. Lord have mercy. I almost died, because my wife was there and for a seven days I did not hear from her. In six seconds, 200,000 people dead.”
On my way out of Boston, I met the second Haitian taxi driver. He kept saying: “Yes, I lost family. Some live, some die. We all have to die sometime.”
I am still thinking about both men. Different responses, however, same love for Haiti.
Special shout out to all the artists, storytellers, teachers, poets, songbirds, rappers… all the creative folks.
Peace.
J. D. Salinger’s recent passing, death really, set me to thinking many things. Thomas Hardy said that thought is a disease of the flesh – I have it big time. Cant stop thinking these days. Think about it.
J. D. Salinger – I loved the man, I used to call him the invisible man, because of the way he did not give into the fame and fortune that came from his talent. You mean there was someone who did not want to be famous? There was someone who did not have a desire to be on the front page? There was an author who actually wished he could turn back the hands of time, take back his writing and get away from the madding crowd? (Another Hardy reference. Don’t’ ask me why I am linking the two. I really have no control over my thought process at five on a Sunday afternoon still stuck in my Manhattan office. Ha. I like that. I have never written that, “my Manhattan office.”)
I digress. So J.D. just got off the stage and stayed away…. I say good for him. However, his life makes me think of all the people and places that we who love fame, wealth and power have made invisible. Think of all the non-Lady Gagas of the world who need our attention and we keep making invisible.
• The youth (40% drop out of high school every year and this is across the board: black, white, pink, yellow, green, purple – I have seen them all),
• poor African Americans (increasingly thrown in jails and made more invisible)
• Native Americans (dear God, have we forgotten them)
• Illegal immigrants (these we love to forget, forgetting that all who came to America were once illegal, well, most…)
• Haiti (forgotten before the quake, I say give it a year….)
• The sick (remember the health care debates?)
• The homeless, the stranger, the prisoners, the hungry, the depressed – we turn them into Salingers though they would like to be seen…
• GOD (so invisible – Amazing)
All this aside, are there Christian Salingers out there?: sharp, witty, creative artists, videographers, poets who can talk, write, paint about God in Christ the way the Burn Notice, Cold Case, The Closer, CSI, The Simpsons…Do you know how to make the invisible visible? Do you know how to share the good news in a new and fresh way without it being about you? Would love to hear from you, especially if you are in the New York area.
I am about to withdraw or disappear....
The Reverend Mark Francisco Bozzuti-Jones
Votive for Hope: Prayers for Haiti
January 25, 2010
Sermon
St. Paul’s Chapel, NYC
“Comfort, O comfort my people says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.” Today, we gather to say to our brothers and sisters of Haiti, “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted ...”
In these words from Isaiah and the gospel, we see the merciful compassion God holds for all peoples.
In times like these, we stand in solidarity and pray with the people of Haiti to God who is Merciful and Compassionate.
As Christians, the suffering and crucified Christ, which is God's experience of suffering and death, helps us to understand the suffering and death in Haiti. Through Jesus Christ we find meaning and mission, we find hope, courage, and life in the midst of tragedy and death.
The pictures and reports from Haiti exist in the wounded and bloodied body of Jesus on the cross; and the cries of the survivors echo the wailing of his mother who watched helplessly as her son was crucified. The innocent Jesus crucified is the same Jesus found in the crushed, broken and bleeding and dead bodies of the people of Haiti.
In the death of Jesus, we learn the proper response to tragedy, we are called to stand in solidarity, to stand in love. Only when we respond in solidarity, only when we commit to taking the broken body of Jesus off the cross, only when we commit to give our all to the people of Haiti, only when we commit to be Good Samaritans to Haiti can we be true followers of Jesus who died and rose triumphant from the dead.
“Comfort, O comfort my people says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.”
There is no honest conversation about the situation in Haiti without an honest overview of Haiti’s history. The God of History calls us to acknowledge the economic, political and racial oppression that have gone on in Haiti for centuries.
No other country has seen the deliberate and concerted effort to see that it remained a failure the way Haiti has.
From the arrival of Columbus, then the French, and the battles that led to Haiti’s independence in 1804, Haiti has been plagued with large scale and deliberate acts of oppression and abuse of power.
Since its independence to present day, it has been made the poorest nation in the world by concerted efforts led by Europe, the United States and many of its own leaders that have led to the impoverishment and suffering of millions and millions of Haitians throughout the centuries. The people of Haiti have been crucified by the world for centuries.
Let it be clear, the death caused by this earthquake pales in comparisons to the millions of Haitians killed by unjust political and economic structures meted out over the centuries. We human beings have done more harm and more suffering and more death to Haitians than any natural disaster has ever done. The earthquake of racism, financial oppression and corruption all at the hands of human beings, colonial powers and world banks have rocked the Haitian people for centuries.
However, in the same way the bloody death of Jesus led to new life. This Haitian crucifixion offers a new beginning, a new hope, a new reckoning, not just for Haitians, not just for us Christians, but for the whole world.
Would to God that we would learn from this how to attend to the poor and the neediest in our world – not just in tragic times.
Death is a part of life. Disasters form part of life. As Christians we are called to commit to working for a world of good, we are called to bring comfort, peace, justice and good news to the poor in their experiences of poverty, disaster and death.
The letter from our Rector and Vicar printed in our bulletin says, “we will be making a long term commitment to this work in Haiti.” Indeed the work to comfort the people of God is a long term commitment. The work to bring comfort and blessings to the people of Haiti is a long term commitment. Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. It is the Christian imperative to make a long term commitment to those in need.
May this pain, suffering, and death for the people of Haiti lead to a long term commitment of solidarity and hope from the rest of the world. Would to God we learn from this tragedy and come to the aid of all the crucified peoples of this world.
May we work with the people of Haiti in such a way that the word of God, spoken through Christ will become a historic reality: Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. Amen.
Things we are called to do:
“Comfort” is used in the imperative. Explore ways in which we are called to comfort the poor…
How do we contribute to political, racial and economic oppression?
Learn about the history of the Haitian people
Ask why have they been poor for so long
Give of your time and energy to work for change in policies as they relate to the poor.
See the “crucified Christ” in all who suffer
Do not lose hope.
Dear Haitian brothers and sisters, we mourn and weep with you. Most people in the world know that tragedy happens and tragedy is a part of life and bad things happen to good people.
Most people in the world know that God has not cursed, abandoned or forgotten you.
Pour le Pays,
Pour la Patrie,
Marchons unis,
Marchons unis.
Dans nos rangs point de traîtres!
Du sol soyons seuls maîtres.
Marchons unis,
Marchons unis
March on proud people, God has not abandoned you. Every person, every place, and even God Almighty has had, has, and will have a day of suffering and mourning. We think of Jesus weeping at the news of Lazarus’ death (he weeps uncontrollably now); we think of Mary weeping at the foot of the cross (she bleeds and weeps now – so out of control.)
Pour le Pays,
Pour la patrie,
Marchons, marchons, marchons unis,
Pour le Pays,
Pour la Patrie
One day I was depressed I could not figure out why – then it dawned on me, that if I could not figure out things in my own life, how in God’s name am I going to figure out the beauty and sorrow in others and in the world. And I am depressed, because I cannot figure out why this happened to you. And I know God is depressed with me or I would no longer believe in God.
Pour les Aïeux, pour la Patrie
Béchons joyeux, béchons joyeux
Quand le champ fructifie
L'âme se fortifie
Béchons joyeux, béchons joyeux
Pour les Aïeux, pour la Patrie
Béchons, béchons, béchons joyeux
Pour les Aïeux, pour la Patrie
Funny how it takes disaster (sometimes) to make us know we are surrounded by Haitians who are priests, politicians, lawyers, doctors, Indian chiefs, babysitters, nurses, lovers, nuns, musicians, cab drivers, parishioners, colleagues, neighbors, friends, saints, saints, saints, saints – brothers and sisters all.
Pour le Pays et pour nos Pères
Formons des Fils, formons des Fils
Libres, forts et prospères
Toujours nous serons frères
Formons des Fils, formons des Fils
Pour le Pays et pour nos Pères
Formons, formons, formons des Fils
Pour le Pays et pour nos Pères
Free, strong and prosperous you all sing in your national anthem. You will be, you are, you will be, you are…. You have made the whole world stop and think and pray and cry and wish and hope for a better world and a better place. And the hopes and fears of all the years are seen in you yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Pour les Aïeux, pour la Patrie
O Dieu des Preux, O Dieu des Preux!
Sous ta garde infinie
Prends nos droits, notre vie
O Dieu des Preux, O Dieu des Preux!
Pour les Aïeux, pour la Patrie
O Dieu, O Dieu, O Dieu des Preux
Pour les Aïeux, pour la Patrie
Does the world know that you sing to God in your Anthem? Does the world know that you cling to God in your Anthem? Does the world know you call God valiant, noble, bold, courageous and strong in your Anthem? May God be all that and more. May the world know that your children sing to God everyday. May you hear God hovering over every wounded heart, every piercing cry of pain, all the confusion, all the destruction…… May you hear God singing a love song to you: a love song that brings peace, consolation and new life…
Pour le Drapeau, pour la Patrie
Mourir est beau, mourir est beau!
Notre passé nous crie:
Ayez l'âme aguerrie!
Mourir est beau, mourir est beau
Pour le Drapeau, pour la Patrie
Mourir, mourir, mourir est beau
Pour le Drapeau, pour la Patrie
These are your own words of your great People and Anthem. I end with them:
For the flag,
For our country
To die is a fine thing!
Our past cries out to us:
Have a disciplined soul!
To die is a fine thing,
For the flag,
For our country.
WE LOVE YOU AND WE ARE WITH YOU.
Feature image courtesy of carrib via Flickr
Yeah,
Yeah, was on Park Avenue
Now I’m down at Trinity
Right next to Hamilton
I’m the Jamaican
I’m the Good news Plan
Want to make it up there
That way I’ll make it anywhere
Yeah they love me everywhere,
I used to chill in Boston
Had a parish next to Harvard
Right there on Garden
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Ask me who my bishop is?
Tom Shaw the Celibate
Bishop Barbara Harris
As great as a bishop gets
I used to be a Jesuit
Hanging out at Weston
Then I got my grove on
didn't win didn’t won
Am really not a bad man
Though sometimes I am a madman
John the Baptist aint the only one
So now I rock on Wall Street
Our choir has the baddest beat
Rob Ridgell will move your feet
Reggae, Jackson, Korean beat
And now we have a Fox
So don’t trip on me
Ad infinitum infinity
That’s how we groove at Trinity
Here before New York
Will out live all talk
Don’t stack up next to me
More money than the Treasury
National Treasury bury me
Jesus Christ will raise me
Use me to feed the poor and brown bag the wealthy
Big execs leave behind the stealthy
Cant be that much dope
To expect hope
Incense sense
People do you read me?
Dr. Cooper, Canon Mallonee
Me means you the Nom de plume
Trinity you’ll see them soon
And if this one won’t
The real One will
123 Trinity Trinity
ABC Trinity, you will see
Before you dropped the ball
We used to ring it in
That won’t come back until you are free from sin
And if you won’t the stone will talk
And if you won’t the posts will walk
There is a preferential option for the poor
Check the Lady of Liberty she has more
And when Jesus comes again you see
He’ll come from this place and give the apple to thee
And Gabriel will come to the Woman with the light
And the shepherds will come where no one sleeps at night
And weak-willed mighty proud of their powers
May they remember those twin towers
I stand on Wall Street to remind you of this
9/11 just one sign that evil exists
And so yes, this song will make it clear
Love of God, love of neighbor far and near
Difficult takes a day, impossible a week
New York is better when Jay-Z speaks
And New York is the world it has to be
Cause whatever happens here
Here, New York, the world, Trinity
Happened to me…
THE BIRTH OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, THE CHILD CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD
The Womb is Empty. The World is Full of Possibility.
On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. (Matthew 2: 11-12)
The Womb is Empty. The World is Full of Possibility.
So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. (Luke 2: 16-20)
The Womb is Empty. The World is Full of Possibility.
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit … Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’” (John 3: 1-5, 7)
The Womb is Empty. The World is Full of Possibility.
(from the book, The Womb of Advent, by Mark F. Bozzuti-Jones.)
O come, o come Immanuel
And lead me to Bethlehem today.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” When the angel had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste. (Luke 2: 13-16a)
In the Scriptures: Shepherds hear of the birth of The Child and make haste to see what the angel told them. Notice how the shepherds decide to go together and with haste.
Advent is a time to make spiritual haste. “Let us go now,” the shepherds say. It may be urgent but it is never too late to set out to see Christ. The announcement of the birth to the shepherds came after The Child was born. In the same way the invitation comes to us today. The Child is born, the promise is fulfilled and we need to go and take part in the ongoing story.
As Christians, we need to bring a certain urgency to how we live out our Christian values. Our urgency comes from a place of love: we are called to go see the helpless, newborn child. The Child who has chosen to resemble the weak among us, invites all of us to come and see him – and see ourselves in him. Where do we encounter weakness in our own hearts? How do we become neighbor to those who are weak in our society? How well do we represent the visiting and caring presence of God in the world?
***
Today is the day when we need to leave the things that keep us busy to go and see. God has come to us. The time has come. Let us go in haste. Let us go today.
In the Womb: The Child’s hormones and antibodies prepare the child for life in the world. And his mother will call upon similar hormones and physical strength to deliver him. His first breath will be a mighty gasp and scream as a way of filling up the thousands of air sacs in the lungs.
The mission of Mary’s womb is almost complete ...
My wife and I discussed how to help the children understand the power of Christmas and the gift of Jesus’ birth. We decided to have a single object, a manger containing a Christ child doll. Beside the child’s head, we placed a mirror. When the children and the parents approached the manger to look in, they saw not only the babe, but also, themselves…
Spiritual Exercise
Reread the passage from Luke.
Imagine that Mary invites you to behold the birth of the child. This birth will be for you…
Say, “Thank you God for the gift of your Son, Jesus.” Repeat this exercise.
Offer prayers of joy and gratitude for the gift of The Child.
When you go to church, pay special attention to the readings and the preaching.
Remember that The Child’ birth is only the beginning of your adventures.
Advent is a time to REJOICE and be glad.
From The Womb of Advent by Mark Bozzuti-Jones
Expect Hope
And the constipated do not get it (Oh ….
Whatever!)
And you?
You don’t look so happy and I hear you are not sleeping and I hear that you have been crying and I hear that you have been losing your hair (like me) oh dear losing your teeth losing and losing and losing
There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth…
And there was no hope at the global warming climate conference
None. Loser. No hope. They saw hope arrested and thrown in jail…
And the Rector reminded the church
and I thought I heard the Vicar sing
“Aint no mountain high enough, aint no valley low enough…”
Well what do you expect?
And the news come and go talking of sex, lies, losses, texts, and wasted lives and lost jobs, and pregnant mothers from Nazareth and drunken angels with bad breath
Is there hope yet?
And if you can’t expect hope what can you expect? Waiting for Godot still?
You kiddin’ me?
Expect Hope.
Be still. Expect Hope, the 144,000 strong keep shouting…
Forty percent of our youth dropping out of high school
Please Mr. Governor will you still hold back $750 million from the schools?
Will some bank or someone or something or some idea or some tribe use some of the bonus to save someone or something or some idea or some tribe? And where is the shepherd to leave the 99 and worry about the lost
O Obama, O Obama, O drama, drama, drama, drama, drama, drama…
Blessed are the poor, the poor in the spirit, the meek, the messed up, the jobless, the homeless, the less, the least, the lost
Are you waiting for Godot?
Out, out, out, flickering on the stage with and without exit
No I am waiting to go the bathroom and the line for the ladies is ten times longer than the line for the men…
Makes you wonder how we keep from going under…
Right there, close to the edge
Look at the fig trees and all the trees
I have never seen one, the child said
And the teacher said use your imagination
And the child started to cry
And the teacher had a breakdown and London Bridge kept falling, falling, falling…
And I heard the rastaman say, “Expect Hope. Babylon your throne has gone down.”
And I even heard the sinners saying, Expect Hope and they were joined by a multitude of thieves, priests, bankers, and lawyers, and people who hug trees for a living…
53% have borrowed money from family and friends (expect hope)
26% have been threatened with eviction or foreclosure (expect hope)
47% have no health care or health insurance (expect hope)
60% spending their savings and retirement accounts (expect hope)
48% experience emotional issues like depression (expect hope)
Did I read this in the Good News? New York Times, methinks (expect hope)
Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life… (Go, Jesus! Go, Jesus! Go, Yankees! Go…)
And out of the mouth of Trinity cometh forth wisdom: EXPECT HOPE!
“Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
(positive poem cometh soon) Mark
Author: Rev. Mark Bozzuti-Jones
Created: February 19, 2009
Using poetry, music, scripture and current events, we will explore in an interactive kind of a way the spiritual path of life...
Trinity Blogs
- Trinity in Panama, May 2012
- Rector's Diary
- This Old Church
- Discoveries
- Youth Lenten Meditations
- A Visit to Burundi
- Observing 9/11/11
- All Souls Music Camp
- Trinity in Panama: May, 2011
- Charlotte's Place
- The Broad Way
- Pew & Partner Notes
- Stewardship Reflections
- In The Moment
- The Archivist's Mailbag
- The Fullness