Inspirational verse submitted by readers.
Poems
Ephphatha! Oh, be opened! Dull ears and blinded eyes, Just listen and perceive! All that is true and wise Waits that you may receive Into your heart and mind The bounty of God's mercy, Compassionate and kind. There is no past or future But, thick upon the bough, Leaves of the tree of Life Invite you, here and now.
"And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book" ( Isa. 29:18 ) Alert, let me wait by this fountain, this gate open to feed a whole world's needs with that pure Word whispered and heard in the beginning.
The stone we use for building Is the truth we know, Cemented with the love we have to share. Around us lies the rubble Left by ignorance and fear, And tottering walls of modern idols.
Sometimes the city's frantic bustle takes on a poignancy; the people seem to pass and pass untouched by hints of love. Perhaps I feel a listless twinge of saddened sympathy.
Dear Shunammite! Courageously you stood Affirming only all-persuasive good! Repudiating human evidence, Exalted vision, piercing mists of sense, Beholds reality, and down the years Enables others to surmount earth-fears. For those who conquer evil will impart New confidence to every fearful heart.
The greatest man that walked this earth Was servant; He knew the highest, deepest worth As servant. Who better knows how work is blest Than servant? To whom belongs the sweetest rest? The servant.
Enlarged appreciation of her thought, Her tireless patience, and her gentle grace, Enable us to grasp the truths she taught, To comprehend her purpose and her place. Joseph W.
Where? Here! Friend, look close: beneath your feet is holy ground. Under all questions the heart longs for a people, a place in the morning light Where? Here! Look again: place is community, is one— whatever lies bright in each of us.
Self-will cannot accomplish it, nor wishful supplication, Mortal mind must be deposed through self-renunciation. Affirmation of Truth's power, denial of all other, This is the prayer that heals oneself, The prayer that heals one's brother.
Lazarus slept. Human sense Knew it not Jesus wept.