Kairos

Do you hear ticking & tocking, 
or an invitational ringing?

Accomplishment

We give thanks, O God,

for the spirit of grace

that occasionally allows us

to recognize that a task

of need, accomplished by

the imperfection of another,

 is far more valuable than

our own perfect plan that has

repeatedly failed to materialize.

Give us, more and more,

the ability to put criticism

out with the other garbage,

choosing instead to offer

the two-word prayer and praise

of gratitude: "Thank you!"

© 2012 Todd Jenkins

Redistribution

Every generation grasps its wealth,

convinced that what’s possessed

not only has been obtained by fair means

but done according to divine desire.

Recall what the psalmist declared (24:1)

“The earth is the Lord’s

and all that is in it,

the world, and those who live in it...”

Original distribution, then,

took place between the tree of life

and the tree of the knowledge

of good and evil – Eden was its name.

Ever since Cain’s possessiveness emerged,

we’ve redistributed what belongs to God,

as if it were ours alone to keep or give;

warring madness, the ultimate distribution struggle.

How long, O Lord, before

we realize again for the first time

that the measure of our success

is not what’s won, lost, amassed,

but how we hold onto one another

with strong, tender, open hands;

how we feed our neighbors by

the long-handled spoon of grace?

© 2012 Todd Jenkins

Pepper Faith

Life is a pepper -

more like a collection

of many peppers -

rainbow of pepper family's

 genealogical tree.

Religion, mostly an attempt

at genetic design,

narrowing pool to

a few colorful varieties,

long shelf life.

Never mind that these varieties

are not self-sustaining,

must be propped on

plethora of support systems,

that flavor's intensity is often

sacrificed for aesthetics.

Faith, not as religion's antithesis,

but rather crucial complement,

 seeks to cultivate

boldly flavored varieties

capable not only of

kicking it up a notch

but also scattering

strong seeds hither and yon.

Faith's potent oil

seeps into cook's hands,

stinging sensitive skin for days,

calling all to risk immersion.

Do you feel the burn?

© 2012 Todd Jenkins

Viva la Difference

Connection

What does this have to do with World Communion Sunday?

We Are Called

Mark 9:42-43 (NRSV)

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—

those who believe in me—to stumble,

it would be better for them

if a large millstone

were hung around their neck

and they were thrown into the sea.

If your hand causes you to stumble,

cut it off. It is better for you

to enter life maimed than with two hands

to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.”

We are called neither to

the mobster ministry of millstones,

nor the gangster ministry of guillotines –

not for self, and certainly not for others.

We are called, instead,

to the mirror ministry of self-examination.

We are called, not to find blame,

but to find hope and solution;

called to plow all of the dirt-clods

of our self-constructed barriers

into a fertile field for God’s garden of grace.

© 2012 Todd Jenkins