Saturday, May 22, 2010

How Can This Be?

Lately, people have been
Asking about our relationship
How you work in my life
And what you bring to it

As hard as I try
I can’t put it into words
It’s a mystery to me
How you care the way you do

You’re as captivating as the wind
I grab hold of you as I do the wind
There’s nothing to touch
Yet you are life itself

I cannot see you yet
But I can see your effects
I can feel your presence
I can breathe in your essence

I can’t remember when this all started
I don’t understand how it all works
I just know that you have always
Listened to my soul and guided my steps

I never know how it’s done
I never know where I’m going
I just know that you’re leading me
In a direction that I could never take myself

My greatest nightmare is
You’ll get weary of leading
Your light will dim and disappear
Leaving me lost and full of fear

I never want to feel that alone
So promise me that you’ll always BE
You’ll always keep close to my heart
And never let us grow apart

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Love One Another As I Have Loved You


I healed you through my touch
I could have cured by
A simple word or gesture
But I made it a point to show
My love through physical touch

I shared my life with you
I ate with you; I slept with you,
I celebrated with you
I made it a point to show
My love through time and attention

I calmed your fears; gave the helpless hope
Forgave the accused; encouraged the weak
I befriended the friendless and guided the lost
I made it a point to show
My love through words of affirmation

I washed your feet; I cured your sick
I came when you called
I comforted your fears
I made it a point to show
My love through acts of service

There is no greater gift than to
Lay down one’s life for a friend
I made it a point to show
My love through such a gift

I did all of this for you
And ask only one thing in return...

To love one another as I have loved you

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Shepherd Me, O God

With no Shepherd to carry me home
I’m a lost sheep among the wolves
So frightened that I cannot move
So cold that I cannot feel

I have no idea what direction I should head
Because I have no idea what I’m doing
I turn one way one day; then another way the next
Never staying on one road long enough to see where it leads

Day after day, I look for the right path
But each day sends me in a different direction
I’m constantly moving but going nowhere
I’m seeking a purpose but finding only despair

I’m not strong enough to find my way alone
I don’t trust enough to ask for help
I don’t believe enough to turn to You

With no Shepherd to carry me home
I’m a lost sheep among the wolves
So frightened that I cannot move
So cold that I cannot feel

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Peace Be With You

“What are we going to do now? Just hide in here for the rest of our lives?”

“No. Everything will calm down soon enough. Once this becomes yesterday news, and everyone forgets about what happened, then we can go about our business and return to what we were before all this madness started.”

“How long will that take?”

“Not long. You know how fickle people are. They get caught up with one fad, then grow tired of it, and move on to another. Heck, we fell for it, didn’t we? Soon he will be old news, nothing more than a memory, a joke, a ghost.”

“No! Jesus was no joke. He is real. He is the Messiah. Mary told us he has risen. I believe her!”

“John, stop it! You’re as mad as she is—wanting to believe in him so badly, you suspend all reality!! She’s a woman. She is delusional. We can’t believe a word she says. Yes, he’s been taken from the tomb, but that doesn’t mean that he has risen. She didn’t see what she claims to have seen! She couldn’t have! He’s dead! He’s not coming back!”

“No! He was real. He is real! Peter! You knew he was the Messiah. You said so yourself!!!”

“Shut up! Shut up! I was wrong! Is that what you want to hear me say!!! I was wrong!!! There, I said it!! He was just a man and nothing more. He talked a good game. He made us believe in him. He made us want something better. He made us believe that we could have a better life by following him. We left all we had to follow him. But it was all talk. He had no power to change the world as he claimed. If he had, he would still be here…among us, but he’s not. He was just a man—no one special. Best that we just forget all about him, and go back to the way things were before this madness started.”

Peace be with you……. What, no greetings for me? ….. ah….Still bickering I see. Have you forgotten me already? Didn’t Mary tell you I had returned?”

“Yes, but…..”

“Ah…I understand…You didn’t believe her. She told me you wouldn’t.”

“Yes, but…”

“Hush now. Why are you troubled? Why do questions arise in your hearts? Calm yourself. Do not be afraid. I bring you peace.”

“Yes, but….”

“Come. Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.”

“Yes, but….”

“Ah….I understand….Let’s start over…..Peace be with you.”


Tuesday, March 9, 2010

The Promise


“Mary, why are you crying so?”


“Where are you? I can hear you, but I can’t see you.”

“Over here. Turn around.”

“It’s so good to hear your voice again, to see you, to be with you, to be able to hold you again.... I was afraid I had lost you. I was with you when they tortured you; when they crucified you; when they took you down from the cross; when they buried you—and I’m here now. Through all that, even though I never left your side, I felt you slipping away. I felt that I was losing you. I’m still afraid I’ve lost you. Don’t leave me.”

“Believe me when I tell you that I could feel you with me every step of the way. I knew you were with me. Also believe me when I tell you that I would love to hold you to prove to you that I am here...that I am real…. but I can’t do that right now— but I am here. I am real. I kept my promise to you. I will always be with you. Now, go tell the others that I have returned.”

“I don’t want to leave you. I want to stay in your presence. I want to stay with you. I want to follow you wherever you go. You know that is all I want to do—to be with you. I don’t want to leave your side, ever again.”

“I know that, but you can’t follow me this time. I must go on by myself, but I will return again. Believe me when I tell you that we will always be together. I will never leave you alone. But now, I need you to go and tell the others that I have returned.”

“Don’t send me away! I want to be with you. I don’t care about anything else. Besides, it is waste of time to send me to tell them. They may not even let me in. They’ve locked themselves up in the Upper Room. They are afraid for themselves. The world has turned against us. Even if they do let me in, they will not listen to me. They will think I’ve gone mad—that in my grief, I only imagined you. No. It is waste of time to send me to tell them. Let me follow you and be with you instead. They won’t believe me. They will just laugh at me and pity me. I am but a weak, fragile woman to them. They do not see me; they do not hear me; they will not believe me. No. They will not believe your news coming from me. Let me stay with you. They will not believe me.”

“Ah, I understand….but go and try anyway…for me… and Mary?”

“Yes, my Lord?”

“Do you believe in me?”

“I love you. Of course, I believe in you!”

“Ah….Then all I went through was not in vain…..and, Mary?”

“Yes, my Lord?”

“Promise me that you’ll always love me and believe in me. Promise me that you won’t let them forget me.”

“I will always love you and believe in you. I will not let them forget you….and, Lord?”

“Yes, Mary.”

“Promise me the same.”

“I will always love you, always believe in you, and will never forget you. I will always be with you.”

Given The Choice

I heard that my cousin was arrested
Because he rebuked Herod and his ways
I could have counseled John to quiet his voice
It was within my power to save him from death
But I didn’t choose to
I just let it happen

News of Lazarus’s illness reached me
Mary and Martha wanted me to rush to their aid
I ignored their pleas and stayed two days longer where I was
It was within my power to save Lazarus from death
But I didn’t choose to
I just let it happen

I knew my teachings would upset the chief priests and the Pharisees
They had power to silence me as Herod had silenced John
My simple message would dethrone their power over the people
They could not let me live if they were to retain their political position
It was within my power to change my message
But I didn’t choose to
I just let it happen

How could I have not known of the plot to kill me?!
I drew great crowds and raised their spirits and hopes
I promised them a better life through me
I agitated the high priests and Pharisees with such talk
I pitted brother against brother with such rhetoric
It was within my power to change my campaign
But I didn’t choose to
I just let it happen

I saw what was in Judas’ soul
I saw his longing to be seen and be in charge
I knew what he was capable of
It was within my power to save Judas from himself
But I didn’t choose to
I just let it happen

I knew as the night drew near that this was the night
I knew another way out of the garden of Gethsemane
I didn’t have to fulfill the scriptures—to be captured and killed
It was within my power to slip away through the darkness
But I didn’t choose to
I just let it happen

I was handed over and questioned by Pilate
He wanted to save me from the chief priests, from the crowds
He wanted to save me from myself....and to save himself
He truly thought he had the power to save me from being crucified
If only I would give him something to help clear my name
It was within my power to help him save me
But I didn’t choose to
I just let it happen

I was taken to the Place of the Skull and crucified
I suffered, died, and was buried
You can never imagine the ridicule, abandonment, and pain
That I endured during those last hours
It was within my power to change my course many times
But I didn’t choose to
I just let it happen

Mary's Pain

She watched him die. She saw him humiliated, spat on, degraded, and beaten. She felt his suffering in every step he took to his death. She watched him being tortured. She had to stand there and watch him be brutally murdered. She was helpless to prevent it—helpless to stop it.

Mary’s Pain

I’m at a loss
I need you to tell me what I should do
What can I do to help you
All I know is that I NEED to DO something!!!

Tell me the right words to say and I’ll say them
Tell me the right actions to do and I’ll do them
Show me the right feelings to share and I’ll share them
Give me the guidance and wisdom to help
Give me the secret to bring you out of this

But you tell me there is nothing TO do
There is nothing I can say
There is nothing I can do
I am helpless to help
I’m powerless to change things
All of this is out of my control

Even so, I don’t want you to go through this alone
I see the suffering, the heartache, the torture
It’s written on your face
Pouring from your eyes
Etched in your soul
Your pain is too much for me to bear

I want all this to stop
Not only for you but for me
I’m afraid I won’t be able to survive this
I can’t stand here and watch you die

I’m at a loss
I stand here wanting to take the pain away
Wanting to heal your hurt
I feel so betrayed by my own inability to stop this!
I just can’t accept that there’s nothing I can do
I won’t accept that; I can’t accept that!
There must be something I can do!!!
There MUST BE!!!

My God! My God!
Give me the right words to say and I’ll say them
Give me the right actions to do and I’ll do them
Give me the right feelings to share and I’ll share them
Give me the guidance and wisdom to help
Give me the secret to save Your Son!!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Judas’ Last Thoughts

How could I have done what I did?
How can I undo what has been done?
It was all a mistake
This is not what I had planned
How will anyone believe me now?

I just want all this to end
Tell me how to quiet
These thoughts in my head

I still can’t see where I went wrong
I really thought I was helping him
I thought I knew more than he did
How could I have been so wrong?

I just want all this to end
I need these voices inside my head
To stop echoing my father’s voice

I can hear him spitting at me
You’re a disappointment!
You’ll never be good enough!
You’re a failure, a joke, a loser!

I just want all this to end
Tell me how to quiet
These voices in my head

I can’t stop this pulsing pain
I can't see straight; I can't think
I feel like I’m lost in a world
Where only darkness reigns

Misunderstood; disconnected
Abandoned; lost; alone
Cut off from friends, family...life
Full of regret; void of hope
Nothing matters anymore

I just want all this to end
Tell me how to quiet
These voices in my head

Never mind…

I can make the voices stop

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Sent Here to Change the World

I was sent here to change the World
But I’m afraid that my message was lost
On a world that could not see
On people who could not feel
On friends who could not trust

I was sent here to heal the World
But I’m afraid that my powers were too weak
To open all the eyes that would not see
Comfort all the hearts that could not be comforted
Console all the souls that would not be consoled

I was sent here to teach the World
But I’m afraid that my methods could not
Teach those who refused to learn
Speak to those who did not listen
Reach men who would not be reached
Change minds that did not want to be changed

I was sent here to bring Love back into the World
But I’m afraid that the world was too full of itself
People were not ready to let go
Of the things they cherished more

There is no room for Charity when Greed is around
There is no room for Humility when Pride is standing tall
There is no room for Kindness when Envy reigns supreme
There is no room for Happiness when Despair overshadows it all

I was sent here to change the World
But I’m afraid the World has changed me

Thursday, February 25, 2010

The Day Has Come

Blood is all I know
Blood is all I see; it’s all I taste
That is all that pulses
Through my ears and eyes

I close my eyes and all I see is red
There’s nothing else to see
Nothing else to do but endure the pain

Pain….Pain…

Pain has become my only solace
It is the only friend that stands by me
Those I relied on have run away
Those I loved have abandoned me
Those who believed in me have turned away

Not only has my body been beaten
My spirit has been broken
My soul has been wrenched from me
I have been rejected by those who followed me
I have been ridiculed by those who once praised me
I have been abandoned by the one I trusted

There’s nothing more to say
There’s nothing more to do
I have no more tears to wash away your sins
I have no feeling to wipe away your pain
I have no more words to soothe your conscious
You are on your own for the time being

Until I return....for you