A call to a new land

After Genesis 12:1-3 

A call to a new land,

a command to leave,

to turn away from the unknown,

the familiar, and turn

toward the unknown,

the unfamiliar, the different.

Leave your family, and

go. And my promise is this:

all the families of the earth

will be blessed. Those who

bless you will be blessed;

those who curse you

will be cursed. But

through you will come

the blessing for all.

 

The call to a new land

is not unlike the call

that happens generations

later, the call to leave

the fishing nets,

the tax table,

the tentmaking, and

embrace the unknown,

the strange, the unfamiliar,

and through those called

will come a blessing 

for all, a blessing called

salvation.

 

Photograph by Kameron Kincade via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Friday Readings

 

The Leper – poem by Brian Yapko at Society of Classical Poets.

 

Can a Story Change a Soul? – Annie Beth Donahue at Story Warren.

 

Sing, My Tongue, the Saviour’s Glory – poem by Venantius Fortunatus at Kingsom Poets (D.S. Martin).

 

Grief Can Be So Lonely – Tim Challies. 

 

True Story: The Surprise Ending is Joy – Andrew Klavan at The New Jerusalem. 

Nothing separates

After Romans 8:31-39

Hearing the call, and

responding to the call,

they gathered together.

And once gathered,

nothing could separate

them from the caller.

A whole litany of foes –

disease, war, famine,

poverty, upheaval – 

stood silent, mute,

unable to divide

and conquer. Nothing

separates the called,

nothing separates

the gathered, from

the Caller. From

the Gatherer. 

Nothing prevails

against them,

because of who

the Caller is.

Photograph by Hannah Valentine via Unsplash. Used with permission.

It's over and done

After Romans 8:31-39

It’s over and done,

this battle, this war,

it’s over and done

before it even begins.

The forces are arrayed 

so unequally:

on one side, God;

on the other,

it doesn’t matter.

And his people 

as well, those he

called and those

he gathered, so, too,

do they stand

undefeated and

unaccused, because

the accusations

and the charges

and the crimes 

have been paid for,

atoned.

Photograph by Nghia Le via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Not only a call

After 2 Timothy 1:9

It wasn’t only a call,

a sounding in the night

or day, a voice speaking

into a heart, hearts.

It wasn’t because of works,

acts, deals, accomplishments

that we had done, it was

never about us, ultimately.

It was a call,

a call to a holy calling,

what we were given

from before the time

of the first page,

a call to a purpose,

not ours, but called

by grace.

Not ours.

Never ours.

Photograph by Rose Lamond via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Hearing the call

After Luke 14:12-24

I heard the call

to the feast and wow

what an opportunity 

what a great opportunity

let me check my calendar

on my phone, oh no

it’s packed, I had no idea

how scheduled I was, 

with events, things, stuff,

responsibilities, appointments,

meetings, conferences, gatherings,

luncheons, dinners, filled

with all the important things,

the things signifying importance,

so I have to say sorry, things to do,

places to go, people to see,

maybe next year

in Jerusalem.

Photograph by Tom Plouff via Unsplash. Used with permission.

RSVP no

After Luke 14:12-24

The feast prepared 

and ready, the call goes out 

to come to the beast, 

this would have been 

the second call, the first 

asking if people would come,

and this second call meets

excuses, no I’m too busy,

too many responsibilities,

too many things to take care of,

sorry my wife is calling

sorry I have other plans,

maybe next time. A third call

goes out, instead,

to the poor, the blind,

the crippled, the lame,

the sick, the dregs,

the ignored, the deplorables,

the pariahs, the uneducated,

t6he rubes, the rednecks,

and they come

and they feast.

Photograph by Ryoji Iwata via Unsplash. Used with permission. 

Crowding the table

After Luke 14:1-11

We crowd the table, jostling

each other for the best seat,

the seat closest to recognition,

to acceptance, to honor,

to acknowledgement. As we

crowd we’re told the first 

will be last and the last

will be first and we stop,

confused at the inversion,

the words becoming

dissonance, why do this,

it was easier before 

he came; now he turns

everything on its head.

He poses the question

(he’s always posing 

questions): better to gain

immediate honor or

better to be recognized 

and moved up or be

recognized and moved down?

No wonder they hated him.

Photograph by Gades Photography via Unsplash. Used with permission.