Grace in the Dark

Culture begs us to go

toward the light,

but those who are not

afraid of the dark

are far more capable

of journeying to the depths;

the very places

hungering for a taste

of God lifting us above

cycles and circumstances

of our past, offering us a

different present, resurrected future.

© 2012 Todd Jenkins

Targeting Religion

Too much of what’s labeled evangelism

feels like “Stand Your Ground” unleashed:

unbridled enthusiasm relentlessly

pursuing unknown entity.

Jesus as weapon of choice;

self-righteous indignation

crosshair in which stranger is targeted;

religious superheroes leaving

faith safely locked in the basement.

Where are hearts, voices, lives

mirroring deep contentment, assurance

of Christ’s gentle, irresistible grace?

© 2012 Todd Jenkins

Now

Higgs Boson or not,

we are eons away

from understanding what

the human brain can accomplish

in the face of adversity;

maybe it would be more correct to say

“what cranial wireless networks

God reveals in particular circumstances.”

Someone, somewhere is always praying

for THIS time, place, as revelation.

Now would be another good one.

© 2012 Todd Jenkins

Grand Design

My view of the world

is one way to look at it,

but not the only way;

not your way either.

Like the blind ones

examining the elephant

from different perspectives,

perhaps we should

avail ourselves of

our differing perspectives,

since community, culture,

cooperation seem to be

part of grand design.

African proverb says,

“If you want to go quickly, go alone.

If you want to go far, go together.”

Let’s commit ourselves

to the steady train;

long haul with much more

than room for self and same.

© 2012 Todd Jenkins

???

They reveal themselves

on multiple levels,

hidden in plain sight,

as Highlights picture puzzles

in Pediatricians’ offices;

rearing their inquisitive,

snake-like heads in places

polite society would never acknowledge.

Manners won’t dissolve them,

not even nasty stares or snarky comments.

Firm they hang, waiting

to be plucked like ripe fruit,

sometimes even falling off the tree,

glancing blows off unsuspecting heads.

“What have you to gain

by this endeavor; what have I?”

“What would happen

if we stood back,

leaving well-enough alone,

giving a chance to the people

whose very life may

depend on this outcome?”

Maybe that’s the ultimate question,

first asked by smart-aleck kid:

“What’s it to you?”

And if the answer is,

“Nothing much.” then

it may really not be

our question to answer.

Perhaps we could better spend

our time answering questions

for which we are chiefly responsible:

“Why am I here?”

“What can I do?”

“What will it matter?”

© 2012 Todd Jenkins

Within

Life is less about deciding

what you can or can't do;

more about figuring out

how to live the burning

that lies deep within you.

Always remember:

you cannot change the world alone;

changing the world takes us,

working together, for another.  

When I choose to

accept the real me

because I understand

that a genuine me

makes a better world,

God’s image is reflected.

© 2012 Todd Jenkins

Object

When we diagram sentences

in the story of faith,

most heinous error is

transposing subject, object.

God is always subject.

We are ever objects.

The verb? Love.

Not culture’s syrup or obsession.

Compassion, commitment,

connection tethering

not only us to self of God;

weaving human tapestry

into warmth and comfort,

dignity, respect for all life.

In this way,

desire supplants obligation,

guilt melts for grace,

profane morphs into sacred;

all become One, holy.

© 2012 Todd Jenkins

Redial

When your phone is in your pocket and, by your right movement and pressure (or wrong, depending on your perspective), it dials a number, some people call that a butt-call. I think God butt-calls me all the time. I’m just sitting there minding my own business (or somebody else’s) and my “phone” rings—not actually my phone; but something gets my attention the way my phone does when it rings. Then all I hear at the other end of my newly-focused attention is silence.

Sometimes I imagine God, phone in hip pocket, busy doing critical God-things, leaning back a little too hard against the universe and inadvertently hitting the redial or speed-dial button. You know that feeling. You have a sense that God purposefully has directed your attention, and is very present in the moment, but there’s no particular voice or message—just silence.

I used to be annoyed when this would happen; but then one day it occurred to me that, in order for this to happen, MY number must have been the last one that God called, or even that I'm on God's speed-dial, and I thought, “How cool is THAT?!” Of course, the way God operates, the fact that my “phone” rings in no way excludes your “phone” from ringing, and everyone else’s, for that matter. Come to think of it, butt-calling all of us on a regular basis, just so we don’t completely miss all of the ways God is at work in our lives, might be a top priority on the list of Critical God-Things. How cool is THAT?!

© 2012 Todd Jenkins

Independence

Independence, taken to

its logical conclusion,

without creation’s tapestry of community,

leaves us with nothing more than

winner-take-all tournaments

whose grand prize is

the nothingness of one.

We can only achieve independence

on one front by carefully tending

to dependence on others.

There are no independent independents;

only fools whose temporary rise

prepares them for catastrophic fall.

Benjamin Franklin was right:

“We must, indeed, all hang together, or

assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

© 2012 Todd Jenkins

My Patriotism

My patriotism flows from the deep places where God’s questions continue to challenge the actions and choices of all nations, including ours; because even our own great nation is not free from greed, deception, and selfishness.  I know this because I have seen the same demons rise from the depths of my own being.  It is a patriotism that forces me to look beyond campaign slogans and promises to ask if the “widow, the orphan, and the sojourner” are being cared for, and if justice and mercy are becoming the inseparable partners in God’s intended shalom; a patriotism that will not allow me to shirk the same questions with regard to my own life’s practice.

My patriotism is not of the flag-waving variety, and yet the sight of a color guard in parade dress brings tears to my eyes.  I am constantly reminded of the price that has been paid by former generations of soldiers, and the cost to the current generation and its families.  It demands that I be able to distinguish between supporting soldiers and condoning war.  The former is a duty that must not be abandoned, no matter how I feel about the latter.  My prayers for soldiers do not neutralize my prayers for peace or vice versa.  My patriotism cannot count human life as acceptable collateral damage.  It grieves for every human life that is ground into the grave by the cogs of war’s machinery.

My patriotism believes that true freedom will exist only when questions can be asked without fear, and the conversation is open to all, regardless of their opinions.  It holds that truth is best discerned when all the laundry is on the line, and all the players are invited to the table.  It knows that there is a fine line between maintaining national security and protecting vested interest, and those public officials who walk this tightrope are in need of our prayers, as well as our calls for accountability.

My patriotism, like the faith from which it grows, will not accept the words individual or private as modifiers.  It is a communal creature which values the thoughts, prayers, and conversation of others.  This is my patriotism.  I would love to hear about yours.

© 2012 Todd Jenkins