Thirst

Grace is an awakening

to the gift that we can and should

decline to accept every invitation

to self-loathing; both those

that come from within and without,

because God has invited us

to a party with an altogether

different theme: love.

The day's dream-wake:

leaving all the invitations

to self-loathing unopened

is the first major leg

of the journey toward

learning how not to issue

such invitations to others.

Even the smallest sip

of genuine grace sharpens

our palates to recognize

and reject the bitter aftertaste

of all pretenders, awakening

our connection to others' thirst.

© 2015 Todd Jenkins

Holding

When I say I'm holding you,

in a circle of light or in prayer

or in some other gentle,

metaphorical way,

   know that there will be

   times when my mind

   consciously imagines you

   in my outstretched, open palms.

      There, my focus is

      on lifting your circumstances

      into divine presence.

         When my mind turns elsewhere,

         know that I will not

         set you down or aside.

            I will, instead, open my heart

            and place you there,

            letting the percussive rhythm

            of life accompany us both,

            until my hands are, again,

            open, ready for holding.

 

Photo by Jerry Gorman

               © 2015 Todd Jenkins

Dying

The church is not dying;

    it cannot ultimately die, as it is

        a bride of the resurrected Christ.

What is dying are our own

    particular ways of doing church;

        those gentle comforters that,

            in the beginning helped us know

                and rest in God’s love and mercy

but now seem to be

    sucked into the intake,

        keeping fresh air from flowing.

THOSE things are dying because

    they are more ours than God's;

        and anything that's ours

            was dying from the day it was born,

                just like we have been.

THOSE are methods.

    What is not dying,

        and will never die,

            is the message.

THIS is what belongs to God;

    what has been freely offered

        to all of creation since

            we were spoken into existence

                out of the swirling waters of chaos;

what has been expanding

    in our hearts and minds

        from the day of our birth.

THIS is what dares us

    to enlarge ourselves to contain it –

        even to allow it to contain us.

It is GRACE; always bigger

    than dreams or comprehension;

        holding room for us, yet  

            forever inviting everyone else;

a feat attainable only by one

    who uses the lazy eight of infinity

        as a front door welcome mat.

    © 2015 Todd Jenkins

It Is Here

Recently, I posted a photo of a tree to one of my social media pages. It was a picture my wife shared with me. She took it at a park in Cookeville, TN, while we were celebrating my son’s college graduation with some of his friends. She told me it was a photo of a tiger’s eye. The caption I put with the picture was, “The trees can see love everywhere. How ‘bout you?”

 

Photo by Jennie R. Jenkins

A friend responded to my post with, “You see what you are looking for. Fortunately, you are looking for lovely images.” Through the years, I’ve heard many people say that we will usually find whatever it is we’re looking for. I used to think this meant each of us had blinders on; that we were afraid to see other things, so we only saw what we liked or what we could deal with.

Now, I realize there’s more to it than this. I understand that what we’re looking for is here. Whether it’s good or evil, love or fear, hope or despair, it’s all here. For me, the question becomes, “What will I celebrate, foster, and feed; in myself and in others?” I’m looking for good, love, and hope, in your life and in mine. I know it’s here.

This doesn’t mean I don’t know about the shadows that are also here. I know them well. It means I will not feed or water evil, fear, or despair. I will search for, coax, and lift-up the grace at the center of all our lives.

Whatever you’re looking for, I’m pretty sure you’ll find it; so, be careful where you focus.  

The heart's eye struggles

to hold multiple vision points.

As long as you're focused

on what's not going

according to your plan,

you'll never see all

the beauty that grace

is unfolding under your nose.

© 2015 Todd Jenkins

Deck

Suffering and Love

often share the same taxi.

The former, always worrying

about where we’re going

and if we’ll get there on time

and by the route we’ve planned.

The latter’s energy is used to find joy

and connectivity in the journey

and in where we’ve come from.

Death has a way

of rearranging life’s priorities.

 The closer it comes to us,

the more significant examining

and shuffling we do.

Prayers for the decks

that keep on dealing to us,

even when we want to fold;

for the hands we know

we'll never win, but choose

to go all-in with anyway;

and for the gift of grace

that the House extends

to players and played alike.

© 2015 Todd Jenkins

Warning!

Photo by Carie Rickenbrode Turner

 Church worship bulletins, websites, and all other ecclesial communications should contain a bold warning: Prayer is a dangerous undertaking. Those who regularly engage in its practice do so at their own risk. 

Most of the time, it’s subtle. You won't notice the ground shaking at first. You'll just be carrying on a conversation with God. Your part of the conversation might be thanksgiving, intercession, or even personal plea. 

The risk you're taking by your engagement in it, is that something's going to change. Not only that, but you never know what – or even who – that will be. You won’t know when or how either. 

If that doesn't have you quaking in your kicks – falling off your Sunday-best shoes – there's an even bigger jeopardy: No matter what you think needs to change and no matter how effectively you lay out a plan for something or someone else to change, if you keep at it, the change happens in you. 

You! You, who are fervently pleading your case to the divine, already on the way toward God through religious practice, if not faith; you’re the one who’s going to change. 

Wait for it. Maybe you don't want to watch for it. Just be patient, and keep asking and listening; always listening. 

First, it might be your thanksgiving that grows, as you become more attentive to the ways the whole world is stitched together by grace. Perhaps your intercessions also expand, and instead of feeling overwhelmed by the world's gaping maw of need, you feel more secure in doing what you can and being who you are, nothing less and nothing more; because you realize that God’s in charge and not you. 

As for your pleas, maybe it's prayer's vista that nudges your expectations closer to God's, as you find strength and peace in surrender. Maybe you recognize that regularly peeking through God’s glasses gives you a much broader view of all that’s right with the world, and also gives you courage to call out our own cultural and systemic injustices that tilt creation toward fear and away from hope.

Yep, there should definitely be a warning. And now that you’ve heard my version, I hope you and I will have the courage to throw caution to the Spirit and risk it all anyway; to take a leap of faith, placing our hope in the infinity of divine love. 

Pray on, surrender onward, hope upward.

© 2015 Todd Jenkins

Limited Grace

♬  Limited grace, how odd the sound

♪  that somehow saved just me.

♪  I know not how my soul was found

♩ deserving more than thee!

♫ I dare not look at life closely;

♭not ours, not yours, or mine.

♬ I'd rather keep thinking simply

♫ lest Christ should change his mind.

♬ When my journey of life is through,

♪ will I finally care;

♬ asking about the rest of you,

♫ wond’ring why you’re not there?

♫ If heaven seems too small a place

♪ you might want to explore,

♬ “What earthly good’s a thing like grace

♩ if not offered to more?”

© 2015 Todd Jenkins