The Descent into Hades - Christ Risen!

THE EASTERN CHURCH DOESN'T make images of the moment of Resurrection. The Easter Icon is titled The Descent into Hades: that Christ has gone down into the very deepest place of darkness, fear, sin and loss and there, unwilling to lose anything that belongs to God, retrieves Adam and Eve from their tombs and all those who are waiting for their salvation.

The mountains or caverns to left and right seem to hold Christ who descends to the underworld in a sphere of light. Everything radiates with the energies of the Resurrected Christ. Adam and Eve seem to be the last ones plucked from eternal loss, while Moses and the kings of Israel observe. Christ's movements, striding over the gates of Hades, suggest the Easter Hymn: Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death and upon those in the tomb, bestowing life!

I Corinthians 15: 20-25

Look! Christ the Life descends into Hades,

and there he overwhelms the doors of death.

He searches for Adam and Eve in their tombs

restoring each to life.

Having great compassion upon our race,

Christ the Victor plunders hell.

The friends of God wait patiently

as Christ reclaims everything for God.

In the dark abyss the doors of death

become useless in defending their cause.

Christ the Light descends into darkness:

locks and bolts fail before his advance.

When the Victor pulled Adam and Eve from the tombs,

he had me in mind as well.

Let us marvel at Christ whose power is great,

and whose triumph spares us disillusionment and fear.

The deepest darkness runs away,

as the Easter Christ makes the underworld bright.

Let us rejoice with those who  are found by Christ,

and increase joy where there's weariness and sorrow.

Wax melts before the flame,

as the power of death yields to Christ.

Adam and Eve secured from death's cold grasp;

earth rejoices in a springtime of rebirth.

Death, while a very great power, is only the second:

the Resurrection of Christ is first.

Glorify Christ who has gone to such depths,

for love of us!

The myrrh-bearing women wondered before the empty tomb

as the angel rolled back the great stone.

And as Caesar's guards collapse in fear,

earthly empires are confounded.

When the Lord invaded the shadowy realms

in a sphere of Easter radiance,

he spoke to Eve a word of life,

to the transformation and renewal of our minds.

The Lord is Risen from the dead:
ice melts,

the ground warms and greens.

And we can change!

Christ Calling the Apostles

Luke 5: 1-11

JESUS HAS EVERYONE'S ATTENTION IN THIS SCENE: Peter, who is in the water and the others who have their net in the Lake of Gennesaret. The boat is rather charming with its two masts and fancy bow and stern. Perhaps they are doing well as fisherman. In the background we see the hills surrounding the sea. Again, Jesus is in motion, stepping into the invitation to follow him. His right hand is blessing while his left hand holds the scroll of his teaching. We can easily place ourselves in this scene. Once you've done that, you've started meditating.

As Elijah was called from plowing fields,

so the first disciples were called from fishing.

Let us rejoice in our own divine calling,

responding to Jesus with courageous love.

These first disciples were prosperous fisherman,

not poor; not naive.

O Christ, impress upon me,
that to walk with you will exact some price.

The Lord stepped into Peter's boat as if were a pulpit

and sat down to teach the crowds on the shore.

O Jesus, my teacher, what word have you reserved for me today:

leading me from shadow to the joy of your light?


Jesus entered Peter's boat without introduction,
without explanation, then,
Put out a little from the shore.
Christ begins with small requests.


The Lord spoke with a strong voice
God's thundering over the waters.
Fishermen-like, catching souls
for the pre-eminence of love.

The Lord commanded Simon Peter and his friends:

Put out into the deep.

Take me who loves you , O Savior, from shallow living,

out into the depths of your presence, kingdom, love.

Here Christ is calling his first apostles:

the word means one who is sent.

Like twirling children, fallen in all directions:

to the hungry, the exploited, the children, the poor.


Overwhelmed by his unworthiness, Peter addressed Jesus
with the language of divinity, Master and Lord.
Then praise Christ who dispels fear,
and includes us in the work of spreading light.


Like Abraham and Sarah who left it all
these apostles at once abandoned everything for Christ.
Loosen my earthbound grip, O God,
that in new freedom, I might seek you.


At the Lord's instruction they caught so many fish
that their nets were at the breaking point.
But now, not fish but people, Christ says.
Oh, that we would understand humbly.*


*Fishers of men. Some people say, Oh it's just a metaphor. Translate: Oh it's not real. But metaphor doesn't mean something isn't real but rather, it's most real. Some things are beyond description and so we employ images that convey the very deepest, undisguised reality. That's what I mean when I speak of the underneath - looking beyond the obvious.

So when Jesus tells us we won't be catching fish but men, what's he saying? First of all, to be caught is bad for the fish, so the image can only be taken so far. But to catch men; catch women? Does this mean that we'll spread the doctrines of faith and people will be jumping into the net of the Church? I don't think so. That kind of thinking often gets devolved into resentment with those who don't jump in. Then it's us against them and we start calling people names like: pagans, lost, heretics, unbelievers. Wars follow. See the film Black Robe - how the 16th century French Jesuit missions failed here.

But to catch souls? Maybe to catch souls first by catching people in their imagination? Why does that Christian live that way? That someone would be intrigued by a lifestyle of no possessions, forgiveness, self-forgetting service to others, joy, welcoming-love for people as we find them, trust....

Oliver Wendall Holmes said, "I would have considered a calling to the ministry except that so many of the clergy resembled the undertaker." Well! Maybe some would say, "I would have considered becoming a Christian except so many of them are  racist, judgemental, cheating, un-generous, hateful, petty, on auto-pilot."

Brother Roger of Taize said, "Only when the Church becomes a land of simplicity and humility, will people come running."  Maybe the Christians have to be caught first.

Christ Restoring Health to the Centurion's Servant

Luke 7: 1-10

HERE JESUS IS TEACHING IN CAPERNAUM AGAIN. A non-Jewish military leader, who is sympathetic and generous with the Jewish community, has asked for Jesus to come to cure a favorite servant, who later he will refer to as my boy. As Jesus approached the house the soldier sent word by way of friends, that Jesus should not actually come to the house because of the man's felt unworthiness, but please, to heal from a distance. Jesus complied, celebrating the soldier's faith, though he was a Gentile, and the boy was indeed cured.

We see the city and the boy in his bed. He seems to be enjoying some affluence, as the blanket or quilt is bright red and decorated. So are his pajamas. Only the wealthy had access to colors. The centurion and a another soldier are at the bedside with one of the messenger-friends. Though the gospel account doesn't tell us that Jesus ever wound up in the house, here he is shown at the foot of the servant's bed. An apostle has come along, maybe Peter, James or John, the three apostle-insiders. Though Peter is always more identifiable than any of these men. The boy's bed seems to be out in the yard, while the red curtain and the open door suggest the healing took place in the house. Again there is this trans-place going on in the icon: a wonder that goes beyond a particular geography.

When the Lord set out for the centurion's house

the soldier objected, declaring his unworthiness.

And so I stand with this soldier of humility, crying out:

Speak only the word and healing shall be mine.

Capernaum is a place of convergence,

where roads from distant places come together.

O Jesus, meet me in the place of my inner Capernaum,

where light and shadow conjoin.

This centurion had a servant who was sick and near death,

sending friends, beseeching Jesus to come and heal the boy.

O Christ, come and heal again, now, this slave

to power, possessiveness and pride.

The centurion was the leader of a hundred soldiers

with the imperial might of Caesar behind him.

In sickness he realizes his own powerless need,

as Christ sets out to heal where power fails.

It is the Word of Jesus which has real power,

healing even from a distance.

Speak your Word still, O Christ-God;

heal our world where we are far from your truth.

The Jewish elders told Jesus, This man is worthy of your attention.

But the centurion sent others to tell the Lord, I am unworthy of your visit.

In humility, let us rejoice in everything given:

unmerited gifts.

The centurion's slave was highly valued.

Quickly Jesus shares what's important to us.

Let's never trouble Jesus with trivial things,

but bring to him our secrets, born from deep within.

In Bethlehem's humility, the Lord assumed our form;

and the centurion asked for healing through the intercession of friends.

Glorify Christ whose Word demolishes pride

and raises us up, encouraged by love.

Jesus marveled when the Gentile soldier

trusted in his power to heal.

And I will share this commander's believing:

Jesus, beneath the roof of my soul.

The centurion sent a delegation, asking the Lord,

Heal my servant by your distant word.

And I will be a centurion too,

and Christ will delight in faith such as this!

Christ Restoring Health to the Paralytic

Mark 2: 1-12

ISN'T THIS ICON WONDERFUL (FULL OF WONDER)? Jesus is sitting because he is teaching. Sitting signifies authority. The iconographer has painted some of the crowd. The fellow on the left is perhaps interrogating Jesus, "Who are you to forgive sins?" The younger man in the middle has his hands up in the air - perhaps in awe of what he's hearing. The wide-eyed man second from the right, who is nervously adjusting his sleeve and looking away, seems to be saying or thinking, uh oh, as he hears Jesus forgive sins. He knows this will spell trouble for Jesus with the religious leaders. 

Two of the four friends are looking through the hole they've made in the roof and through which they've lowered their handicapped friend. The sick man stretched out on the portable bed, his head propped up on a pillow, is looking hopefully at Jesus who is addressing him.

There's a mix of inside and outside world here, right? The house door is open but Jesus and the man are outside, even though we know the scene is inside the house. That was the whole point of opening the roof and lowering the man down in the first place. Remember that icons depict not just the outer historical event but the underneath - the whats' really going on here. And so the perspective is off, as we'd say. What matters is God's perspective, God's idea, what God is doing.

Capernaum is far distant, Way of the sea beyond Jordan.

Jesus the Lord has left Nazareth and settled there.

Let us allow Christ to venture deeply to the far away place within

and there a light will dawn.

The Savior was surrounded by so dense a crowd

it was impossible to get the needy man to him.

O let us hurry to be part of that crowd,

that I might hear Christ's teaching and glorify God.

Having healed first the soul of the paralyzed man,

Christ the Lord ordered him to rise up and walk.

And so the people marveled and glorified Christ,

who works awesome wonders!

The paralyzed man, healed by Christ, is truly an image of ourselves

set before the Lord by the faith of others.

I join the long story of holy believers,

and glorify Christ from the waters of the font.

When the paralyzed man was lowered through the roof,

Jesus the teacher said, Your sins are forgiven.

Christ is not shocked by my past; neither should I be.

But thanks to Christ for his eternal mercies.

Divinity is revealed in the forgiveness of sins,

a physical cure and the reading of human hearts.

O Christ, I will stand with the four faithful friends,

whose hearts are clean, trusting in you.

Jesus was inwardly aware of their thoughts

as they accused him of blasphemy by his forgiveness of sins.

Yes, let us be zealous to please the Lord and Savior,

by merciful thinking that lifts others up.

While the roof is torn open,

all the more is heaven

and Christ-flame leaps down

to forgive and heal.

The healed man got up and walked in front of everyone.

Let us emulate this restored friend:

With gladness and without fear,

glorify Christ the Savior.

Capernaum you caught the Lord's scolding for your failure to turn,

though you'd heard the Lord's teaching and witnessed his wonders.

And so, let us not be dull of heart

but find a new standing in the changing of our minds. *

* Jesus asks for repentance. And repentance is not some mysterious thing but an inner turning: the changing of our minds. When was the last time you witnessed someone really changing his/her mind about something that matters: "You know, I was wrong about that, forgive me." "Thank you, I never looked at it that way." "It was very foolish of me to say that, I'm sorry." "Oh, your idea is a much better one."

Christ Restoring Health to the Hunched Woman

Luke 13: 11-17

In Luke's gospel Jesus reveals a particularly courteous affection for women, making this one of the most joyful accounts found in the gospels. Here, a woman appears who has been disabled for eighteen years. Poor lady, she is doubled over and can only view the ground. We can imagine her joy, when the first thing she sees after the miracle is the face of Jesus!

Of course, as the cure takes place on the Sabbath, the temple officials are put out. As if God would withhold healing because it's the Sabbath! What was going on with them that they couldn't share the joy? It's such  a disappointment when religion becomes sour and withholding. Anyway, that doesn't stop Jesus. Here in the icon some of the apostles are gathered closely behind Jesus. We see the village landscape and the synagogue in the background. The woman is smiling - she knows Jesus will help! She is dressed in a rosy colored robe - like the pink in one's cheeks when we are becoming well again.


On a Sabbath Christ straightened the woman who'd been bound for eighteen years,
while the resentful synagogue president taunted the Redeemer.
But we, with that healed woman,
now glorify Christ the Lord!


Let us flee from the Pharisee's thinking
which forgets expansive love.
Yes, while faithfully observing our obligations to God,
let us not neglect Christ's law of love for our neighbor.


The Pharisees cannot share the joy
of God's working as God wills.
Yes, let us share each other's joy
and celebrate God's nearness, overcoming dark with light.


While her ailment was physical, mine is interior:
bent over as I am with anxiety and loss.
But with the straightened woman, I glorify Christ,
who stands me upright in wholeness.


In anger the Lord castigates the hypocrite:
you are not what you appear to be.
No rather, let us make of ourselves a new likeness
living in growth and authenticity.


Let us praise the Healer, Christ in Glory,
who came into our world to salvage humankind.
Oh Christ, who heals the woman and the others with disease,
You advance upon our deformity from within!


Let us all be filled with the love of Christ,
knowing tender compassion for those we meet.
Yes, let us be whole and perfected through Christ,
and with our brothers and sisters gain en-spirited life.


Once a woman approached Christ with faith in him;
she sought the healing which would stand her upright.
At once, the Savior's Word went out and healed her completely,
for Christ is Lord and God!


A possessing Spirit has crippled this woman
and so the healing she seeks is spiritual.
Look! Let us move with Christ against Satan's empire,
and rejoice with him in establishing God's rule!


His adversaries were confounded, while the people joyful at the signs he worked:
Christ, establishing the pre-eminence of love.
Yes Lord, let us love well,
and like the new-standing woman, see you face to face.

Christ Restoring Health to the Ten Lepers

Luke 17: 11-19

Here is an icon of Jesus healing the lepers. Only four of the ten are shown. Notice how the men come to Jesus in a disposition of great need: bent over and with arms and hands out-stretched and open. These poor fellows hardly own clothing. Don't they represent humanity in its most vulnerable place?  Again, Jesus is in motion and with his own blessing hand at the ready. How eager Jesus is to touch and connect - both of which the purity laws strictly forbade. The rules required lepers to stay out of villages, and so we see the mountains in the background. Perhaps these are hills in which the lepers lived with only one another for company. Opposite the mountains we see the borderland village Jesus entered and where the encounter took place. Wearing a short beard, Peter is behind Jesus, looking away. The other younger apostle has a quizzical look about him. Perhaps as they saw Jesus reach out to the despised lepers the apostles were confounded and asked, "What's he up to now!?"

In that nameless village ten lepers were healed,

yet only one returned to give thanks and praise to God.

With that one faithful foreigner I will thank Christ the Healer:

Heaven's interface with humankind.

Walking in the borderland between Samaria and Galilee,

Christ is in hostile territory.

Let us go then to meet him in that inner place,

where hostility and estrangement reside.

Beholding Christ some distance away,

the lepers called out, Jesus! Master! Pity!

Oh, let us entreat Christ as well -

that he would draw near to heal us of our own sorrow and loss.

Let us be done with an unmindful way.

Yes, let us live wisely and return to Christ the Light,

seeing him face to face in wonder,

gratitude and joy!

Beholding God's mercies and presence in our lives,

let us join the one grateful stranger.

Turning back to praise God at the top of our voices,

prostrate before Christ-God, let us thank him!

Let us pay great attention to the Lord's insruction,

Stand up and go on your way!

On my feet I set out in friendship with Christ:

I am an eleventh healed-wonder!

Samaritans were heretics, enemies and strangers:

yet Christ discerned faith in this restored man.

O Jesus, who knows me so well,

be pleased where you find believing in me!

On his way to Jerusalem when he met the lepers,

the Lord healed them of their disease.

Let us not forget Christ, who from the cross near Jerusalem,

heals us of sin and all spiritual sickness.

In ignorance and hiding I have become a foreigner to God.

But Christ is not scandalized and neither should I be.

Yes, full of joyful tears I cry out:

Oh true God, thank you for your kind mercies.

In meeting the Samaritan-leper made well,

Christ the Lord asked, Where are the other nine?

O Jesus, what question do you ask of me?

Grant I'd not hide from the sound of your voice.

Christ Expelling Demons from the Possessed Man

Mark 1: 21-28

This miracle takes place in the synagogue at Capernaum. Only Jesus has a nimbus (halo) and so we might suspect that the others, who are standing around watching, are people from the synagogue. The building in the background is the synagogue itself. That there is a curtain stretched across the top of the building suggests that (as the gospel recounts) the miracle occurred inside, after Jesus had completed his teaching. Notice that Jesus is walking in the icon, as if advancing upon the inner empire which has claimed the poor fellow. The small winged figure between the man's raised arms symbolizes the foreign spirit which Jesus expelled.

One Sabbath in the synagogue, a possessed man was brought to Christ,

who freed him, restoring everything to God.

Let us keep ourselves an inner Sabbath-synagogue -

a place reserved for holiness and God's own shared life.

Ordering the disturbed spirit to Be quiet and depart,

the man was left at peace before the Lord.

Let us open ourselves to that same Word of Christ,

whose friendship saves us from a downcast heart.


As the demon was expelled by Christ,
the man was thrown into convulsions.
O Christ, who convulses my old rebellion,
leave me restored, sound and glad.


Let us pay great attention as Christ's secret is revealed,
I know who you are, Holy one of God.
And so let us be zealous in knowing Jesus the Savior,
whose Word fills our ears with amazement. (Sirach 43:24)

The world is filled with unclean spirit, disturbing forces of rebellion.

But in Christ who exorcises demons, there is God,

whose Kingdom is one of truth and life  -

holiness and grace.

Filled as I am with sensation and impression,

all the more I will marvel at Christ the Lord.

For in his Word I hear the voice of the Father,

and in his glance is revealed God's human face.

Let us go to Christ who teaches with authority.

And as the demons obeyed him, all the more may I:

keeping his commandments,

remaining close to him in love.

The people were astonished and pondered the meaning

when the foul demon had left the man.

In the joyful crowd I will celebrate Christ's teaching,

which frees me from the slavery of my own reasonings.


The possessive spirit was foreign and personal,
hostile, convulsing and loud.
At the voice of Thy thunder shall they be afraid.
At Thy rebuke they will flee. (Psalm 103: 7,8)


The Lord went to Capernaum and taught on the Sabbath;
his teaching made a deep impression on them all.
And so let us be finished with  false teachers in our lives
and choose a way of inner freedom and light.

Jesus Cures the Man Born Blind ~ Those Who See, Those Who Do Not

This Gospel Account is multi-layered and rich in symbolism. Even though we might think we know the story, we would do well to have another look before praying the verses. Take note of the icon as well; the scene within the scene.

John 9: 1-41

This man's problem is deeper than most,
his blindness is from birth.
Let us find our way to Christ, Light of the World,
illumination for humankind.


The Lord's restoration reveals baptismal themes:
washing, enlightenment, healing - faith, conversion, salvation.
Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together. (Psalm 34: 3)


The Lord's time with us is limited.
There is urgency in his words.
O Christ, bring a new time of light into our darkened world,
lest we be lost utterly to the night.


The Lord fulfills Isaiah's promise:
Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened. (Is. 35:5)
Glorify Christ, of whom the blind man becomes aware,
while Pharisees devolve into deeper darkness.


The muddy-eyed man makes his stumbling way, to the temple,
some distance from the Siloam Pool.
And I will trust the Lord in hopeful expectation
on the halting way to my own illumination.


The Pharisees already have Christ on trial:
doubting, discrediting, belittling, accusing.
They take the oath, Give God the glory,
while the once blind man holds on to his belief.


In opening the eyes of the man born blind,
the Lord really opens the eyes of his heart:
that Christ is God, sent to save us from darkness;
that earth is crammed with heaven. *


The Lord made clay, as in the beginning;
a mix of dust and spittle.
Christ is divine, working still,
making of us a new illumined humanity.


The one now-seeing shares what he knows,
and what it means at last to see:
that God has kissed our world in Christ;
that heaven is already here.


The new see-er reveals the cure,
how to be healed of spiritual blindness:
I washed, and now I see.
Oh, to obtain a clean heart!


*The phrase crammed with heaven, comes from the novel/poem, Aurora Leigh, by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Christ Restoring Health to the Canaanite Woman's Daughter

Matthew 15:21-28

There is apparently some confusion in this icon as it claims to depict the restoration to inner freedom of a Canaanite girl. But the young person on the bed is a young man with short hair and no shirt. An icon painter told me he thought it was a girl, as icons never sensualize the human figure. I'm inclined to think that it is simply an error on the part of the icon studio which painted the image. No matter. While sharing the icon the verses will reflect the gospel account: that it was the woman's daughter who was healed.

That this mother has a wrong theology

doesn't bother or hinder Jesus.

But let us learn Christ's way of divine compassion

and the mother's way of deep believing.

Here is a model of victorious faith,

a double outsider: a Gentile-Woman.

Let us go with Jesus who affirms God's good order,

destroying distance; drawing all to himself.

To the imploring mother, the Lord declared, O woman you have great faith,

as the girl was raised up from the captivity of darkness.

Like dreamers our mouths were filled with laughter

and our tongues with rejoicing! (Psalm 126:1)

This Canaanite woman has left her district

to find the Lord and the desired freedom.

And so Christ awaits me on the other side,

with gifts of healing and delight.

When the Canaanite woman came before Jesus,

she knelt like a Christian, calling him, Lord.

Now undeterred, I approach crying out:

Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David.

When Jesus rather crudely called her people, dogs,

the Gentile woman persisted, asking for healing.

And I will keep this woman as my spiritual friend,

and call out, Lord, despite Christ's seeming reluctance.

Though the woman's daughter was tormented by a demon,

the evangelist called her freedom an instant healing.

Let us emulate this mother, whose prayer is insistent,

and give Jesus the joy of my own great faith.

Surrounded by enemies, Jesus has withdrawn

to the Gentile area of Tyre and Sidon.

Then say among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for us,

and we are glad indeed." (Psalm 126:2,3)

The Lord claimed he'd come for the lost sheep of Israel,

then changed his mind and restored the Gentile's' daughter.

Let us be glad for this post Easter sign:

the future fullness of God's Kingdom - salvation for all!

When Jesus called the Jews the children who eat first,

The woman attested she'd be glad for crumbs.

Let us follow the pattern of this trusting mother,

having faith in Christ who supplies what is needed.

Jesus Calms the Stormy Sea

Mark 4: 35-41

Hear the mysterious gospel words:

They took Jesus in the boat, just as he was.

Lord Jesus,  I come to you, just as I am:

divided, confounded, hopeful and poor.

And there were other boats with them:

an armada of faith.

O Christ, I will follow you in humility and love.

Even as you sleep in the boat of my life.

The apostles were swamped by wind and wave

imploring Jesus, Master we are lost.

But let us rest comfortably beside Christ the Lord,

trusting he will see us to safety and peace.

You awoke and addressed the wind and sea,

Quiet now, be calm,

O Jesus, speak words of power when I am lost

in the grip of worry and doubt.

O Christ, Lord of nature:

You calm the turmoil of the seas.

Your miracles bring shouts of joy

to the gateways of morning and evening. (Psalm 65:7,8)

When the Lord asked the apostles: Have you no faith?

he wondered, as they had witnessed his miracles.

And so we glorify Christ our God,

who spares us in compassion, dwelling in need.

The apostles were preserved from drowning

by the Lord's powerful word.

But overcome with awe they said to one another,

Even the wind and sea obey him!

O Christ our God, you asked for faith,

so I come before you in abandonment and trust.

Letting go of reliance upon my own strengths,

I surrender to your power and life-guiding Word.

In the calming of the sea, O Christ,

you were dismayed at our lack of faith.

But in joy and truth, I will not disappoint you;

receive the offering of my energies and heart.:

In the calming of the threatening sea,

Christ the Master established God's rule.

Dis'mantling Satan's Kingdom without walls:

O Christ our God, glory to you!

The Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes

Matthew 14: 13-21

Jesus set sail for the other side of the lake,

while the crowds ran around to meet him there.

Let us go quickly as well, to be with Jesus,

who feeds us with the Bread of his Word.

The crowd followed Jesus to the deserted place,

an image of humanity in loneliness.

But in you, O Christ, is God's communion with us,

the healing of our isolation.

When the Hebrews complained in their desert hunger,

God sent them manna and quail.

Now here is a sign of heaven's great courtesy,

as Christ feeds the crowds with bread and fish.

Gratefully accepting the little bit of food,

"All we have here with us is five loaves and two fish."

O Christ, accept now the little bit of ourselves,

and glorify you in this donation of our lives.

Five plus two is seven: the number of Gentile Nations

to whom Christ's name would be proclaimed.

And believe with joy that Christ makes use of everything,

even myself in frailty and desire.

As Jesus received the gift of loaves

he blessed God and gave thanks.

Let us think of Easter night; let us think of Holy Mass,

and recognize Christ in the Breaking of the Bread.

As Elisha multiplied oil and bread

so Jesus, our Savior, multiplied bread and fish.

And so we are prepared to meet Christ the Bread of Life,

whose own Body and Blood is nourishment from heaven.

Let us excuse the evangelist's omission,

in not counting the women and children.

But in Christ, lamp upon my feet,

be glad no one is expendable; that all have a place.

The people ate as much as they wanted,

until they all were filled.

You have revealed, O Christ, that in you is food:

plentious satisfaction of our hunger for God.

The Lord fed thousands and with food left over,

gathered, enough to fill twelve baskets.

Lift up your head - in Christ, nothing is wasted,

I am desired by God; let us glorify him!



The Raising of Lazarus

John 11: 1-46

Though Martha warned of a fourth day stench,
Christ the Lord of Life raised up Lazarus from the dead.
He is our bright rising;
Who can have enough of beholding his glory? (Sirach 42:25)


When Christ our Resurrection called, "Lazarus, come out,"
the dead man came forth, wrapped hand and foot.
God, who calls to the stars at their posts,
who answer,"Here we are" shining in joy for their Maker.


As the Lord stood before the tomb of his friend
he wept, while the Jews witnessed the depth of his love:
The tears of a war horse charging into battle,
as Jesus advanced upon death, triumphant in the conflict.


Let us emulate Jesus, the Lord of love,
and with him lift our own eyes to heaven in prayer.
Thus Christ has modeled for us to have heavenly recourse:
to trust God, whose eye is on the sparrow.


The Lord Jesus would have known of Lazarus' stench,
dead man now buried four days in the tomb.
But this was to evidence Christ's power to reclaim
human hearts buried in  spiritual decay.


Behold the Lord Jesus restoring Lazarus to life!
How greatly to be desired are all of God's works!
Behold the Lord Jesus, in His own Easter morning!
How sparkling he is to see!


Your friends, O Christ, Martha and Mary
went  to the tomb with friends to weep.
Let us all go to Jesus who transcends death,
offering consolation to those who mourn.


When Christ commanded, Untie him; let him go free,
he set Lazarus on a new path of life.
Like Lazarus, let us know Christ who forgives the past,
bestowing upon us, the freedom of God's children.


The rain of your tears, O Christ, waters our world,
making the life of goodness to grow.
O thank the Lord, O thank the Lord,
whose mercies endure forever.


Jesus is glorified in the wonder of life
which brings Lazarus out of the stone-sealed tomb.
Now the Pharisees in jealousy, scheme the Lord's death,
but glory will follow in the brightness of Easter!

Christ Raising the Widow's Son at Nain

Luke 7: 11-17

(Nain: pronouced NAY-EEN)

The Lord approached the village of Nain,
and raised up the son of the widow who was grieved.
And so the King of Glory, who rules the sun and stars,
summons to life the lifeless one.


Here Christ has advanced upon Satan's Empire;
raising the boy in tender love.
Let us join the vast crowd, exultant in awe,
and glorify God, singing of Christ's triumph.


When the Lord saw the boy's sorrowing mother
he shared her sadness and said, Don't weep.
In the world's tearful mourning, let us hurry to Christ,
who comforts humanity; consolation in our grief.


At the threshold to the village Christ restored the nameless boy
and returned him to his mother...No more fear.
Let us eagerly welcome Christ across the threshold of our lives,
that he might manifest this power and elevate our minds.


Let us be glad for this widow whose only son was restored -
in losing her boy, consigned to poverty and loneliness.
O Christ our Resurrection, witness the bankruptcy of our lives,
and fill the emptiness with your light.


Let us heed that the Lord touched the dead man's bier,
forbidden to maintain ritual purity.
And so we glorify God who has not disdained our world,
but entered in, to open human hearts.


When the Lord of Life said, Young man, wake up,
the dead sat up and began to speak.
Let us emulate this man, glorifying Christ in our speech;
bearing witness to God's en-livening grace.


As the Lord gave the young man back to his mother,
we can share this family's joy!
And so, let us be returned to one another,
praising Christ who does not leave us in loss.


Let us join the crowd who witnessed this wonder,
crying out, God has visited his people.
Yes, let us each announce God' visitation in our lives
and spread the awed-view of Christ the Restorer!


Raising the boy at Nain, death's darkness is overcome,
joy is once again; relationships are widened.
And so, let us trade now what is useless, old and failed,
and welcome Christ, God's face and heart of love.

Gospel Praises ~ the Christ-Center ~ Wedding Feast

 IN SEPTEMBER OF 2008 I WROTE  Gospel Praises while staying  in a hermitage at the edge of a forest on the property of the Monastic Community of Bethlehem on Monte Corona in Umbertide, Italy.

Gospel Praises are short poem-like verses that grow out of a meditative reading of the gospels. The little verses are called megalynaria - Greek for praises. In Latin we'd call them laudifications. I suspect that when composed in middle-eastern languages they could be chanted easily. Not knowing what those melodies might be,  I've chosen instead to compose the verses, following the four line pattern, with only a rough or suggested sense of rhythm.

The first two lines focus on some happy aspect of the gospel, while the second two lines share my own sense of the more or what's underneath for us.

The new pope is speaking to us in unvarnished language. It is clear that he sees we are losing our Christ-Center as a Church - that parochial concerns and religious polemic are holding center stage. At times he has laid the problem at the feet of the clergy who he says can become "collectors of antiques and novelties" and who need to "get out of the sacristy." He has even used startling language, as when he told the priests of Rome to get out and "smell the sheep." This suggests that he sees priests as largely disconnected from people, using arcane language and having lost their sense of Christ-mission.

Everything the priest offers should help people to pray contemplatively. There are three supports to that end here: The gospel accounts themselves which will require that we pick up a bible and look again at the text, though we may swear on the proverbial stack of bibles that we are already sufficiently familiar with the story. Then we are invited  to consider the icon which accompanies each text. We're reminded again that it is said of Saint Kateri Tekawitha, "She prayed more with her eyes than with her lips."  And then lastly, the little verses themselves, read slowly enough to understand but also to feel some sense of rhythm or movement.

When we enter a room which is totally dark, we often fumble around, anxiously searching for a wall switch, or even worse, we bump around in the dark gingerly  feeling our way for a lamp. These gospel praises are not like that at all. They are simply humble attempts to peak under the veil which surrounds the accounts of Jesus' teaching and wonders. We might each compose our own.

The Marriage at Cana

John 2: 1-11

Here we see Jesus seated quite comfortably at the wedding table. Mary is on her feet, perhaps whispering into Jesus' ear, "They've run out of wine." The bride and groom are seated at the head of the table. Icons often condense several aspects of the event into one, and so even as Mary speaks to Jesus, the server is busy filling the large, clay, purification jars with the water that will become wine. The other two older men at the table represent the many other guests. Perhaps one or both of them is a religious official who won't be happy about the coming miracle, as it will indicate that somehow the religion which requires the jars has run dry. Saint John doesn't call this changing of water to wine at Cana  a miracle, but a sign.

Though the Savior's hour had not yet come,

he revealed his power, changing water into wine.

And through the intercession of his all-good Mother,

the disciples accepted Christ:  God become man.

The Lord and Savior changed water into wine,

gladdening the guests of the wedding feast at Cana.

Now Jesus changes lives through baptismal waters,

to be like wine, bringing Christ-joy to others.

On the third day, among invited guests,

Christ displayed his glory, changing water into wine.

On the third day he'll be Resurrected over darkness and death.

Lord God, my mouth is full of your praise. (Psalm 71:8)

The Mother of Jesus: in attendance when her Son

first revealed his glory in the working of this sign.

She'll be present again, at the end, beneath the cross.

First disciple of humility and love.

The old method of ablutions is shown to be lacking
as the jars are empty and one short of seven.
Now in Christ we encounter God's purifying forgiveness:
let us praise him who changes scarlet-sins to white-as-snow.


Let us see in Christ the missing seventh jar of water,
Jesus, who quenches the human thirst for God.
Joy in Christ, breeze of love,
who gladdened  Cana-guests with so marvelous a gift.


Let us be obedient servants and follow the Lord's command,
presenting ourselves to Jesus in need of transformation.
Let us praise him and be thankful,
for he takes us from what is below to what is above.


When the waiter-in-charge tasted the water made wine,
he had no idea where it had come from.
But we, recognizing the source of wonder and gift in our lives,
praise Christ who bestows God's abundant mercies!


Let us emulate those privileged servants
and obey Christ at once:
Now, fill the jar of my life to the brim, Lord:
recreating me in joy, dignity and hope.


When Jesus arrived as a guest at Cana,
he gave a sign of God's wedding-intimacy with us.
Now praise Christ the groom and guest of humankind
whose presence and power dispel emptiness and fear.