Poems

What sort of presents were you hoping to get? Nice ones, of course (everyone likes gifting) What sort of presents were you planning to give? Good ones, naturally and not just seasonally But maybe, just maybe it's time to receive a gift of an entirely different sort— presents giving place to presence? Loving presence Infinite presence Faithful presence Ever-presence Something you can feel and hold on to but nothing under wraps no paper or ribbon to conceal it something of value inestimable bestowed by the great Giver: the Christ expressed And once we've received it this God gift of love is it something we dare to share? The cost is dear, priceless in fact It may mean less wrapping and shopping and rushing It may mean more manger-quiet appreciation of our God, ourselves, our brother and sister It may mean that giving is also forgiving It may mean that caring is also forbearing Don't miss out: this year give more than you ever gave before. The world really needs your Christmas presence.

While as a shepherd abiding in Love, keeping close watch over flocks of those whose night seems real (dear lambs in your arms): Always a star dawns, centered in heaven; always fresh angels affirm that good is single fact for flocks. Once Christ proves innocence true, all that remains is rejoicing— all that endures is peace.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

Good evidences harmony, oblivious of evil— does its healing work through the Christ through the child in us, through conscious victory and the exodus of all self-pity. Good (always seeing) rich in harmony, becomes the sweet thesaurus of our being.

Here I sit, with the crowds, All competing for the prize— "First one into the pool. " Those who need the angel's touch the least Will most likely get there first.

The 5000 fed, the Pentecostal hundreds, the 70 sent— were they so much greater than the twelve appointed, the friends at the cross, the one or two at the resurrection? The few who have come today will always seem small compared to those who could have come. But the command is to pray for these few, to so love the Christ, which has called us together, that we understand why in the middle of this mighty congregation numbers don't count.

I lay atop a mighty mountain range beside a lake of pure translucent blue. (While in this atmosphere of earthly peace I fell asleep and dreamed I had to climb from vale to reach the summit far above.

O Tyndale! Good man, burned at the stake! "Heretic"—an ungodly name For one with such a godly purpose. Did not the elders warn you the Bible Was not for unlearned eyes to see? Did not your friends tell you that siding With God and His Word could be lethal? O Tyndale! Could you have doubted yourself On the road to martyrdom (which came As no surprise)? What was it that drove You to ponder languages no longer spoken? Why were you not content, young man, To score more points in the games of your time? What drove you to be a scholar for others? Oh, to let our lives be a sovereign sermon To young men and women who seek to be On the side of God and the people! And to let them know the words of Jesus, Which you lived to give us: "Gretter love then this hath no man, then that a man bestowe his lyfe for his frendes.

The silent hunger of my prisoned heart Yearns beyond the fret of mere desire For larger limits, softer servitude, And stretches prayer to claim its boundless home. The voiceless angel of unfettered thought Awakes me in a burst of lambent peace; Inertia fades as undiscerned I rise And glide past sleeping guards and noiseless gates.

Just as there is neither Jew/Greek male/female bond/free in Christ, there is neither presence/absence in Christ. The sense of oneness precludes division/separation.