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The child whom God’s Son deigned to become grew to full adulthood, and once his Passion and resurrection were over, his human actions for us were in the past.

son of Mary
son of Man
Son of God
who came and went
long ago
far away

the incarnation
bleeds beyond the borders
of that human life
Wonderful Counselor
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.

that work is not
complete

we
wait

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if this is
the Dark Night
i accept it
for what it is

match my fickle fidelity
with your steadfast
promise

never vouchsafe to me
a solitude
not replete
with your presence

redeem us
because of your love

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Let there be rejoicing and gladness for all who seek you.
Let them say for ever : “God is great,”
who love your saving help.

. . .

and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.

Isaiah’s prophecy
recycled / reclaimed
for later generations

it is good to seek
to wait
quietly

perhaps
this gladness
will come

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The Psalm and the readings seemed, well, a bit dusty this AM.
Here is something else :

Enter. Rejoice. and Come in

The incarnation is two things
god breaking into our
sheltered, often, embattled world
and
the invitation to
enter into the mystery

Take a chance on me

help us
make way for you
into our world
into our hearts
into your story …

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Blessed be God who did not reject my prayer * nor withhold his love from me.

“For the Lord consoles his people
and takes pity on those who are afflicted.”
…

another morning
where promises are recalled
hopes encouraged
and here we are

in that refining fire

it is not unjust
to hope
that God will make good
on those promises
our forebears
trusted
and handed on to us.

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They staggered, reeled like drunken men, *
for all their skill was gone.
Then they cried to the Lord in their need *
and he rescued them from their distress.

he tested them
as silver in a furnace
and then
he rescued them

from the refiners
fire
we still wait
for light
for rescue.

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Bring my soul out of this prison and then I shall praise your name.

distracted by the antiphon :
O Root of Jessie, the ensign for the peoples, before whom kings will stand silent, and whom the nations will seek : come quickly to deliver us.

Santa was always
a poor shadow of Nicholas
the broadside of Santa
pitted, faded, frayed
affords Nicholas with the
chance to shine again
into the dark

a carol jumps to mind

Long is our winter, dark is our night
come set us free, O saving light.

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Let the favor of the Lord be upon us :†
give success to the work of our hands, *
give success to the work of our hands.

For God, though Lord and architect of the whole world, who made and set in order each single thing that is, was something more than loving towards mankind, he was long-suffering as well.

I don’t have anything of my own this AM :

of a morning, the Brothers used to exclaim :
Live, Jesus, In Our Hearts
    by which might be meant
    the Child
    the Man
    the Metaphor
    to which we might reply
FOREVER!

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The angel of the Lord is encamped
around those who revere him, to rescue them.

The Lord ransoms the souls of his servants.
Those who hide in him shall not be condemned.

where were the angelic hosts when
outlaws came in the night to
murder children and parents
in their homes
or when the people of Gaza
were laid waste
or in eastern Ukraine

i’m not looking for deconstruction
or apologetic here

a corner still needs turning
step after step
here we are, waiting.

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You are my hiding place, O Lord ; * you save me from distress

who can assess
the measure of distress
numb to my own
and blind to that of
neighbors
i do not know the toll

our narrative is complicated
compelling
not always convincing

here i am
sheep or goat
waiting

For the Lord is a God of justice ;
Blessed are all those who wait for him.

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So I will again do
amazing things with this people,
shocking and amazing.

Isaiah had a plan
mighty acts
…no longer shall Jacob be ashamed…

but warrior kingdoms come and go
and so we wait
longing to be amazed

when the Lord
delivers his people from bondage
then Jacob will be glad
and Isreal rejoice.

changed

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Are you the one who is to come, * or are we to wait for another?

the Baptist poses
the big question
are you the one
are we waiting for another

it’s still the question
the only question

Jesus responds with
a list of mighty acts
we’ve been there before

even if Jesus is the one
we find ourselves
waiting
come

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Time after time he rescued them, †
But in their malice they dared to defy him *
And sank low through their guilt.

i’m sure to be among those
who have dared to defy you

reveal your faithfulness
o god
on the way
to unlearn
the malice
that binds our hearts

for you are with us
to the end of the world.

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You will show me the path of life, †
The fullness of joy in your presence *
At your right hand happiness for ever.

I don’t know so much
about this happiness
the psalm suggests, but

at Tepeyac
the Virgin
vouchsafed a sign
of your favor

the image remains
beautiful
her message
still proclaiming

prod our stony hearts
open our eyes
help us to hear

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Set me free from all my sins, * do not make me the taunt of the fool :

i do not imagine that my failings
are red as crimson
even if they are
but I take them as a burden
and a barrier
to that life that I said I wanted

its one thing to be broken
another to be ridiculed for it

a priest once said
“You will not know until you are in it.”

bring us to yourself
then we will know.

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i’d be happy enough to say that I’ve got nothing today

Do not fret because of the wicked ; * do not envy those who do evil :

the psalm leads us through
the shenanigans of the wicked
followed by the promise
that the wicked will not prevail

this is supposed to be assuring
do not fret …

but the fret
is hard-wired
chaos writhing

waiting is hard
open our hearts

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You will show me the path of life, * the fullness of joy at your presence,

standing at the threshold
the little treacle anthem
I expected to sing
concealed a prod
Your child is the Savior, all hope lies in him :

not the child
but the redeemer

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling down death
by death
and upon those in the tombs
bestowing life.

we
wait

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The Lord’s revelation to my Master : †
‘Sit on my right : *
Your foes I will put beneath your feet.’

I find myself unmoved this evening
its ok to trust a little
to believe sometimes

while waiting

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The Lord did not forget the just man who was sold as a slave ; * he released him from the power of sinful men.

this antiphon captures the story of the experience of Joseph, sold into slavery and what unfolds after …

we get caught up in God’s mighty deeds
the messy, the disappointing, the complex,
the hurtful

we do not always see the whup-ass or the mercy
that others get to recall after us

in the second lesson today, St Cyprian recalls for us the Apostle’s teaching, in which charity is set before us joined together with endurance and patience, ‘Love,’ he says, ‘is large-souled, is patient and kind ; love is not jealous, is not boastful, is not given to anger, does not think evil, loves all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.’ He shows that love can tenaciously persevere, for the very reason that it has learned how to endure all things.

He shows that neither unity nor peace can be maintained unless the brethren cherish each other with mutual forbearance and preserve the bond of harmony by means of patience.

give us large souls, equipt for love
while we wait

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I do not ask more bullocks from your farms,* Nor goats from among your herds.

Our psalmist asserts that God doesn’t need
anything from us
—everything already belongs to him

all i’ve got is virtue signaling

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My heart overflows with noble words.†
To the king I must speak the song I have made, *
My tongue as nimble as the pen of a scribe.

Again, today
we recount
the lord’s mighty deeds
tales of whup-ass, long ago
and end with the wedding song.

but we live in these latter-days
assailed by the dissonance of battle
and boredom and want
the wicked prosper
and I’ve got no whup-ass

So today I lean on the teaching of St. John Damascene.

By the blessing of the Holy Spirit, you prepared my creation and my existence, not because man willed it or flesh desired it, but by your ineffable grace. The birth you prepared for me was such that it surpassed the laws of our nature. You sent me forth into the light by adopting me as your son and you enrolled me among the children of your holy and spotless Church.

You nursed me with the spiritual milk of your divine utterances. You kept me alive with the solid food of the Body of Jesus Christ, your Son. You delighted me with the cup of his life-giving Blood.

afrerimages

all the trees of the wood shout for joy † at the presence of the Lord for he comes, * he comes to rule the earth.

in anticipation of
the consummation of creation
where creator and creatures
meet
the new heaven and the new earth
. . .
trees
their very structure
an example of exultation
all of creation shares that structure
in thousands of iterations

help us lord
open our hearts
to join creation’s praise

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The poor man is devoured by the pride of the wicked : *
he is caught in the schemes that others have made.

the psalm pleas for a mighty act
while exposing the root of the poor man’s plight

complicit in these schemes
I am foolish enough to believe
that god doesn’t see
or that I don’t

we walk in a labyrinth
in these latter days
sinner and sinned against
together

let us lay this aside
we have no call for scapegoats here.

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For the oppressed let the Lord be a stronghold, * a stronghold in times of distress.

open our hearts to the refuge of your embrace
revealed in your word made flesh among us
open our hearts to the joys and sorrows
of our neighbors