Matthew 13:31-52

Romans 8:26-39

Psalm 128

Haiku: August 5 - December 31 2025

Wind pushes the leaves
Framed by my kitchen window
Gray sky forecasts rain

Mind unsettled
But the new day has begun
Must get on with it.

The early birds trill
Otherwise the world is still
Wait! A mouse scampers.

Biting morning chill
When I stick my hand outside
Return to the warmth

One leaf turns her heard
One flower, cries of delight
What will she see next?

Night gathers troubles
A deep breath before I start
Tackle one by one.

If they don't see it
They walk past the road blindly
Do they really look?

Excitead they shift
They want to leave right away
Where are we going?

Woke at the same time
The hills outlined with a glow
Mornings are dark now.

Winter's breath is cold
Bites my nose outside the door
So go back in side!

Make morning coffee
Half tablespoon vanilla
Then milk to the rim.

Going the right way
Or just going in circles?
Can it be spirals?

Red leaves on the ground
Yellow leaves, wind-blown in trees
Grey clouds loom above

Yellow orange red
Leaves on trees splayed like hands
Welcoming the chill

Parking lot exit
A wave. Sign asking for help.
What is my real thought?

Geese fly overhead
Unenviable commute
To the north office

Birds chatter outside
First sun after the rain stopped.
Catching up with friends.

Christmas tree sculptures 
Illuminate our selfies.
Then the lights turned off.

In trail, leaves fell.
Littering the whole yard
With red and gold stems.

Rain puddles out front.
No dry path that I can walk
Wind keeps me aware

Want to walk today.
The rain biting in my face
Going back inside.

Surprise rain walking
Hiding under the fir tree
Surprise sun comes out.

Smell of bread rises
Greets me coming down the stairs.
Invites me to dine.

Bright car headlines shine.
Damp streets from yesterday's rain.
Leaves stain the pavement.

Slow but steady rain
From here to city and back.
Now outside its dark.

Yellow banana
Yellow squash in a basket
Cornucopia

Long rides through the air
Sleeping through the clouds and sky
Arriving at night.

Crows circle my head
Looking for a place to land.
In my crumpled hair.

Winter plants line paths.
Streams dotted with twirling white.
White egret soars by.

Did you sense I'm gone,
Half-awake in the morning?
Rolling to the warmth.

Too cold for a walk. 
Hands and ears and legs are burning.
House door inviting.

Shuffling, awake,
Fuzzy early morning thoughts.
Stumble out of bed.

Leaves of the boquet.
Litter the kitchen table.
Need to be renewed.

Sunrise to sunset.
Shadows inch close to the tree.
Hide, lengthen, then fade.

Song of the rain patter.
Makes me want to sleep again.
But shoes are outside.

Finches perched on branch
Waiting for the rain to stop.
Or food to appear.

Red in my windows.
Sunshine catches the morning clouds.
Don't open the door.

Bird silhouette strolls.

Across my morning walk's path
Walking unaware.

Hummingbird again.
Tries to sip winter flowers.
Leaves to try elsewhere.

Little Christmas tree.
Looks through the window and dreams
About the forest.

Sleep on empty days?
I wish but there's much to do.
Let out a deep sigh.

The sound of footsteps.
Either a mouse or a grown child.
Just one is louder.

I can see blue skies.
Through the leaves of tree branches.
Still yearning for leaves.

Week before New Year.
Left over Christmas regret.
Mixed with unclaimed cheer.

Lights pulse with music
Crowds pause to take their selfies.
Wander nighttime paths.

John 20:1-18: Premature Conclusions

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. - John 20:1-18

One thing that strikes me in this story is how making premature conclusions prevent us from seeing what God is doing right in front of us. John and Peter and Mary went the tomb and had constructed whole narratives about what might have happened. Option "A" or "B" or "C" John and Peter ran to the tomb, saw that it was clearly empty, body missin, linen folded neatly but "They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead" Mary looked inside, saw two angels and then "saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus."  But she had Jesus right in front of her but still she asked  "if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him"

We (two thousand plus years later) take it for granted: Jesus rose from the dead. But "living" after being "dead" was not option "A" or "B" or "C" for them. It was so inconceivable that when they were adding up what had happened, they never reached the sum that equaled resurrection. Option "D" simply did not exist.

It is too simple to stop at this point and say that it was because they were not expecting Jesus alive so they kept filling in the blanks with anything but Jesus. What we need to ask is: what could God be putting right in front of us that we miss because we are cynical or too often disappointed or it is not how  God works? Am I so good at figuring out how things work but not how God works?

For me, it can be not seeing the person in front of me as the one God has sent me to meet OR who God knows I need to learn from. For me the ordinariness of a situation can disguise the God who orchestrates the ordinary and gives them purpose. We might (as Hebrews 13:2 says) be entertaining angels unaware. Will we leave our minds open to option "D" or will we be looking around mystified for the God who is reaching out his hand to us but who we will not see. 

 

 

I Wish There Was Another Way (Poem)

I Wish There Was Another Way

If I could start again tomorrow, 

Would mornings arrive grudgingly 

And evenings catch me off guard?

Would I be fond of saying, "No"

Or lean towards "Yes!"?

Would I dream as often 

Or get a little more done?

Would I pursue that  

Or wait for a better option? 

Would I?

Or not?

If I could start again tomorrow,

Would I have kept that friend
Or insisted?
Would I choose what led to regret 
And vindication?

Would I be a better version of me
Or less about me?

Would I let someone help me
Or be damned?

Would I
Or not?

Does someone care if I could start again tomorrow?

Let's wake up and find them.

Psalm 118:1-24: The Strength of God's Hands On Ours

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say: “His love endures forever.” Let those who fear the Lord say: “His love endures forever.”

When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down. They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the Lord I cut them down. They swarmed around me like bees, but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them down. I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.

Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things! The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!” I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done. The Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. - Psalm 118:1-18

"When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place." There is a certain point in everyones' life where there is nothing you can do. For whatever reason, you are brought to a place where you can do nothing and you fail. Your resources are insufficient, your strength is weak, your options are reduced to zero, your friends are gone, your prayers unanswered. When this happens, you prepare yourself for the worst: the consequences of bad choices or bad situations come fully to fruition.

But sometimes...but sometimes it just works out. It just resolves. New resources materialize, strength rejuvenates, options unexpectedly multiply, friends stand up for you and prayers are answered. But why? We could try to take credit. We look for reasons why we are responsible for things turning out ok. We could try to say it is because we are resilient or good or lucky or have good karma. But in our heart of hearts, we know we had nothing to do with it.

When this happens, I think it is God giving us a chance to recognize him, his care, his strength. Sure, we could wave it off and act like it was nothing--a nothing that removes meaning from the whole universe. Or we could see it for what it is, God's intervention. And recognizing that these happened because of a person who cares reframes the supposedly random aspects of our lives.

Then if we start working back from these extreme cases, when we are desperate, we can get a vision of how God is involved in the many small graces we receive. That it's not just when we are at the end of our rope that God appears, but also in the smaller moments and decisions where we found a way forward, not realizing it was the same God who saw us through. Yes, tradgedy still happens, but when it does or doesn't we can see the caring hand of God sustaining us. We thought it was the strength of our hands, but it was really the strengh of God's hands resting on ours