Category: Silence

The Temple of the Lord

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah, you who enter these gates to worship the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and let me dwell with you in this place.  Do not trust in these deceptive words: “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.” For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave to your ancestors forever and ever.”

– Jeremiah 7:1-7 NRSVUE

We are safe within these walls.

This is what we tell ourselves.

Inside we are secure, the chosen

people of God. So let us sing

and pray and speak, thankful

for the glory revealed in

The Temple of the Lord,

The Temple of the Lord,

The Temple of the Lord.

But someone cracked a window,

and through the bastard cleft

came sounds to drown

our vain assemblies. For our songs

oppress the stranger. Our prayers

neglect the orphan. And our words

(and silence) do great violence in

The Temple of the Lord,

The Temple of the Lord,

The Temple of the Lord.

Come then, let us cast aside

allegiance to all lesser gods.

Let us now amend our ways

and means. Let us put to death

our violence and our silence,

that once again our God may dwell in

The Temple of the Lord,

The Temple of the Lord,

The Temple of the Lord.

Under Christ’s Mercy,

Pastor Brent

Isaiah 45:3

Come away with me

to a space that is holy

and hidden,

tucked away in the dark.

You won’t find it on a map,

save that marked upon

the interiority of your soul.

Still yourself,

and I will take you there.

I will meet you in the silence.

I will show you riches

a bustling world can never know.

But you will know

that I am more than fantasy,

so much more than what

they make me out to be.

I am with those who struggle,

with those who long for rest.

I am always.

And always,

I call you by name.

Under Christ’s Mercy,

Brent

On the Superfluousness of Words

Using many words,

I stretch and grope and strain

to understand the ineffable,

to explain what I can’t explain.

I’ve done so for so many years,

trying to understand.

Asking, answering, questions,

gripping reason with my hand.

An expert I’m supposed to be,

the guy who knows it all.

But now at last I’ve come to see:

The time has come to fall,

Into the grace of silence,

where questions cease to be,

where reasons do not matter,

Only you and me.

With you I find my answers

though neither of us speak.

My arguments, superfluous,

it’s presence that I seek.

Under Christ’s Mercy,

Brent