On Mount Zion

Then King David went in and sat before the LORD.

After three decades of Christ-following,
I am not often surprised.

So I confess my astonishment
When I learned that
During the time of David
The Ark of the Covenant
Was kept not in
The Tabernacle at Shiloh

But in David’s tent
On Mount Zion
In Jerusalem.

Sacrifices of animals,
The showbread,
The shofar
In Shiloh.

A new dispensation,
A sacrifice of praise,
Of instruments and voices,
Ascending to God
In Zion.

And a closer intimacy between
God and man.

Resurrection Proof

God never rewards disbelief; he always rewards faith.

After Christ was raised,
He did not appear to
Pilate, Caiaphas, Herod,
Those powerful rulers.

He went to the women,
The disappointed followers,
The inconstant disciples,
And gave them the proof

Of his resurrected body.

The Scriptures

Sixty-six books.
Sixty-three of them
Written by
Sons of Abraham.

Hebrews,
Without proven author.

Two written by Luke,
A Gentile.

Early Morning Rainbows

In my bedroom window,
Which faces due east,
I have four sun-catchers.

On sunny mornings,
If Caleb is grumpy when he wakes,
I mention the sun, and the rainbows,
And he perks up
And points, and looks around,
Amazed by the magic that surrounds us.

This morning, small hands on my face woke me,
And I looked up into a beatific smile,
As garbled baby speech said,
Wake and look! Rainbows!

From Five to Fifteen

I have been disciplined
To play five minutes a day.
That was sufficient.
I could see gradual progress.

Then I played an hour one day,
And realized that I couldn’t
Return to five minutes only.

Minuet, Minuet

The first Bach Minuet
Is the sweetest little dance
Imaginable, lilting and happy,
In a major key, always running
Up, up!

The second Bach Minuet
Is somber, minor,
Achingly beautiful,
As it moves
Down, down.

New Year

Of course we know that New Year’s
Is just another day.

And yet, it is a time of symbolic
New beginnings.

I like having a fresh start.
I’ll take what I can get.