The Joke’s On Caesar
The Joke’s On Caesar
by Blind Man at the Gate Read more
All posts in Poetry
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“Conversion”
This is one of my favorite poems. It seems to go with my Red Letter Living topic this week.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Read more -
The Cross is a Scandal on Every Level
The Cross is a Scandal on Every Level
The Cross is a scandal on every level
A king with a crown of thorns
A death march processional
Acclamation by insult
It’s a macabre coronation Read more -
Fallen
In Frederick Buechner’s novel Godric, the twelfth century holy man makes a pilgrimage to Rome seven centuries after its fall and says…
I carried Aedwen on my shoulders up a hill where goats leapt at their lecheries and dropped their berries through the fallen halls where Caesar and his lords had hatched the laws that ruled the world. Poor folk grew cabbage there.
Two provocative sentences from Mr. Buechner’s pen.
The glory of Rome fallen to a haunt of goats and a cabbage patch for the poor.
Yes, the centuries roll on relentlessly and empires do fall. Read more
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A Tax Day Prayer
On this day of internal revenue
some of us are paid up,
some of us owe,
some of us await a refund,
some of us have no income to tax.But all of us are taxed,
by war,
by violence,
by anxiety,
by deathliness.And Caesar never gives any deep tax relief.
We render to Caesar. . .
to some it feels like a grab,
to some it is clearly a war tax,
to some—some few—
it is a way to contribute to the common good.In any case we are haunted
by what we render to Caesar,
by what we might render to you,
by the way we invest our wealth and our lives,
when what you ask is an “easy yoke”:
to do justice
to love mercy
to walk humbly with you.Give us courage for your easy burden, so to live untaxed lives.
–Walter Brueggemann
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Reading The Bible Right
Reading The Bible Right
by Brian ZahndIt’s a STORY
We’re telling news here
Keeping alive an ancient epic
The grand narrative of paradise lost and paradise regained
The greatest “Once upon a time” tale every told
The beautiful story which moves relentlessly toward—
“They lived happily ever after”
Never, never, NEVER forget that before its anything else it’s a story Read more -
Deeper
Monday I spoke at the 25th anniversary of a church in the St. Louis area. I’ve known the leaders of this church for 30 years — since I was 19. Instead of flying, I decided to drive. Less stressful, with plenty of time to think on my Thinking Day. During the five and half hour drive I listened to a series of lectures on Early Christianity by Luke Timothy Johnson.
It got me to thinking.
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Turn The Page
by Blindman at the GateIn our journey through the holy script
We’ve not yet reached THE END
Turn the page
All that is to be said has not yet been said
Turn the page
Long ago the writers finished the text
But the players have not yet said it all
There are heroes yet to take stage
There are dramas yet to be resolved
Turn the page Read more
