Tag Archives: the Gospel of Mark

Someone In Your Name

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Nibbles here and there avow success.SomeoneInYourName
Seeds quarried, treasure consumed.
Autumn squirrels breach leathery pods,
mine sweet meat encased until
embryos are undone from their womb.
No spring sprouts for my garden.

Unknowing, the vessel has more
than one purpose I demand,
serves to honor more than I accept.
Envy rends, bit by bit,
until Your nucleus is devoured.
Lost in my narrow sight
a dried husk remains.

In release of exclusive eyes
harvest is abundant,
an unceasing yield by Your hand.
Gleaners in union with our Holy One,
regardless of title or status,
all are sanctioned at Your banquet.

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Author’s Note:

38 John spoke up, “Teacher, we saw a man using your name to expel demons and we stopped him because he wasn’t in our group.”
                                                               – Mark 9:38-50The Message (MSG)

In Sunday’s reading the disciples are upset that there are others, not within their own special group, who are claiming to do works in the name of Jesus. The disciples only see through their narrow vision, not through the wide berth Jesus offers to all.

Envy gets in my way quite frequently. It takes away my focus, doesn’t let me see the whole picture. My ego is exclusive. Passage meditation is one way that helps me loosen that tight grip.

And the weekly newsletter, Word From Below, by Street Psalms always offers clarity. Thank you.

Abandoned Places

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“What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade for your soul?” – Mark 8: 35 The Message

Abandoned places.

There is a photo of a church in France, one that is abandoned. Through the broken windows, light streams in. It is not a dark place. In fact, it is bright with life.

The rich wood of the past blanches to an almost cream. Ornate trim, it’s difficult to tell if it is tile or plaster or paint, has paled gracefully with age.

Greenery of all kinds – bushes, weeds, trees – sprouted up through the broken floor tiles, not to be dismissed.

It seems the church found itself, its soul. Its true self has come into fullness in a grand, yet humble stillness. The glory of the Divine finally has been allowed to take over, be.

It is not the stuff we have, the places we visit, or the power we achieve. It is the finding of our souls where the Holy One thrives.

Don’t lose it.

Loose the rest and Love will grow eternal.

Peace.