Poetry and Prayer—Day 40: April 11

Written by: Julia Smolucha

A Future Not Our Own by Ken Utener

Plant something new within us, O Christ. Plant within us peach trees, white cedars, towering oak trees, saplings that take years, decades, life-times to bear fruit, to flower, to become a forest canopy, so that we remember again, we cannot do everything, we may never see the end results, we are stewards of a future that is not our own. Amen.

Beginning Monday, April 13 we will continue our virtual journey with a Pilgrimage to Pentecost. Since you subscribed to this email, we will continue to send you an email Monday–Saturday with scripture passages and prayer as we collectively will reflect on empty tomb of Easter and make our way to the fires of Pentecost on May 31. You may unsubscribe to the email at any time. We hope you will continue and include others on this journey. More information can be found at here.

Packing for the Journey

May 21, 2023

I believe that the Sunday School teachers who came up with the Kenilworth Union Church Third Grade Bible lessons 90 years ago also thought of life as a journey. They wanted third graders to be prepared for the trip of a lifetime with God. So they made a scripture packing list so that children in this church would know that God was with them wherever they went and so they would be able to remember God is present in every situation. For generations third graders have learned "The Ten Commandments", "The 23rd Psalm", "The Beatitudes", "The Lord’s Prayer" and "Jesus’ Greatest Commandment". The 1950’s version of the packing list also included Psalms 19 and 100.

The Valley of Lost Things, IV: The Party I Refused to Attend

May 14, 2023

A lost coin, found. A lost sheep, found. A lost son, found. After each lost thing found, a party. Luke chapter fifteen is simple enough, but it might hold everything we need to know about God. When we are lost, God goes after us. When we are lost, God seeks us until we are found. But here’s today’s question: will the older brother go to the party? Can he bear to celebrate? Jesus spins these fabulous little tales and we’re still thinking of them two thousand years later. We see ourselves in the younger brother. We see ourselves in the older brother. We even see ourselves in the father, watching his sons hurt and be hurt by each other and the world. We know this story is telling us something about ourselves. We intuitively know that we fit within this story. And two thousand years later, this story is still about us, getting lost, and God running out to greet us.

The Valley of Lost Things, III: Lost and Found

May 7, 2023

Have you noticed that Shakespeare based his magnum opus, King Lear, on the same initial plot device as Jesus’ little parable? Foolishly, a man divides his inheritance to his heirs prematurely, while he is still alive. A man had two sons. A man had three daughters. All our stories begin this way, or most of them, because this is what is most precious to us, and most distressing.

Poetry and Prayer—Day 40: April 11