Continuing my “life and death are one” theme from yesterday… SPROUT There was once a coffin that freaked outDue to an injustice that made it poutAs it sought to avengeThe pain and anguish to changeAn innocent life into grass that could sprout. John Sensele
Life and death, two moments in the sacred ongoingness. And they redeem each other, over and over again. Something dies and makes way for something new to be born. Something new is born and conquers death for a time. And on and on. I feel like I should try to explain that, but I don’t think I can. Other than to say I have come to see this way by observing and absorbing the sacredness of creation.
Beauty abounds. In his meditation on today’s #AdventWord, Bro. James Koester of the Society of St. John the Evangelist speaks of the “dream of God” as a place where “the fruits of the kingdom flourish.” He calls on us to be producers of “sweet fruits of the kingdom” in our work, our love, our patience, kindness, generosity and so forth. The bits and moments of beauty everywhere in creation are also sweet fruits of the kingdom. They are God’s kisses or pats on the back or hand gently steadying us in a difficult time. They enable us to be producers…
What is more humble in all creation than the sparrow? When humans are not trying to shoo them away from our feeders for “serious” birds, or otherwise treating them like a nuisance, we tend to pay them little mind. The Bible uses the sparrow to make a point about God’s extravagant attention to even minor, inconsequential details–like sparrows. Sparrows are small, commonplace and nondescript. Or so we think. Until something happens that draws our attention to them in a new way. For me it was the snow and ice storm of February 2021 that grounded dozens of hungry birds in…
The show this post is about is titled “The Mind of an Artist.” But that’s a little too boxed-in for me. So I took of “the” and added a question mark. Because what I submitted that did get invited into the show certainly might tell you something about at least one of my minds, but it’s far from “The Mind” of this artist! Yes, I’m quarreling over semantics, but as also a teacher of writing, my mantra has long been “Words have meanings; each and every one either works for you or against you.” The call for this particular show…
Edge & Essence 