Could We With Ink the Ocean Fill

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
      and were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade:
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry,
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky.

 - Meir Ben Isaac Nehorai -

Artist: Maureen L White, www.urbanpasturesart.com

Mystery of Love

To take away the sin of the world,
to break down the barriers that separate people
     from each other, from God,
     from what is deepest within each one.

He is witnessing to the truth:
     the truth of love,
     the truth of the Love of God
     and the God of love,
     the truth of the importance of each person.

Evil screams and roars.
Truth is a light that shines in the darkness.
Silent, it draws forth what is deepest within us.

In his final hour Jesus lays down his life
     for those he loves,
     and for the unity of humanity.
He goes freely to his death,
     free to give his life,
     free to give us life.

And there in Golgotha . . .

Jesus is at the heart of history,
     the center of humankind
     drawing all people to the God of love.

- Jean Vanier -

Artist: Maureen L White, www.urbanpasturesart.com

Immanence

I come in the little things,
Says the Lord:
Not borne on morning wings
Of majesty, but I have set my feet
Amidst the delicate and bladed wheat
That springs triumphant in the furrowed sod.
There do I dwell in weakness and in power;
Not broken or divided, says our God!
Is your strait garden plot I come to flower:
About your porch my vine
Meek, fruitful, does entwine;
Waits, at the threshold, Love’s appointed hour.

I come in the little things,
Says the Lord:
Yes! on the glancing wings
Of eager birds, the softly pattering feet
Of furred and gentle beasts, I come to meet
Your hard and wayward heart. In brown bright eyes
That peep from out the brake, I stand confessed.
On every nest
Where feathery patience is content to brood
And leaves her pleasure for the high emprise
Of motherhood—
There does my Godhead rest.

I come in the little things,
Says the Lord:
My starry wings
I do forsake,
Love’s highway of humility to take:
Meekly I fit my stature to your need.
In beggar’s part
About your gates I shall not cease to plead—
As man, to speak with man—
Till by such art
I shall achieve my immemorial plan,
Pass the low lintel of the human heart.

- Evelyn Underhill - 

Artist: Maureen L White, www.urbanpasturesart.com

Imperatives

Look at the birds

Consider the lilies

Drink ye all of it

Ask

Seek

Knock

Enter by the narrow gate

Do not be anxious

Judge not; do not give dogs what is holy

Go: be it done for you

Do not be afraid

Maiden, arise

Young man, I say, arise

Stretch out your hand

Stand up, be still

Rise, let us be going…

Love

Forgive

Remember me

- Kathleen Norris - 

Artist: Maureen L White, www.urbanpasturesart.com

Answer Me With Dancing

I want to be saved . . . and I want to save.  Amen.

I want to be set free . . . and I want to free.  Amen.

I want to be born . . . and I want to give birth.  Amen.

I want to hear . . . and I want to be heard.

Sweetness dances. I want to pipe; all of you dance.  Amen.

I want to make you beautiful . . . and I want to be beautiful.  Amen.

I want to join with you . . . and I want to be joined.  Amen.

I have no house . . . and I have houses.  Amen.

I have no ground . . . and I have ground.  Amen.

I have no temple . . . and I have temples.  Amen.

If you look at me . . . I will be a lamp.  Amen.

If you see me . . . I will be a mirror.  Amen.

If you knock on me . . . I will be a door.  Amen.

If you are a traveller . . . I will be a road.  Amen.

This is my dance . . . Answer me with dancing.

- from The Hymn of Jesus

- in the apocryphal book, The Acts of John

Artist: Maureen L White, www.urbanpasturesart.com

My Soul is Swept Up in God . . . in Joy

The great sea
frees me, moves me,
as a strong river carries a weed.
Earth and her strong winds
move me, take me away,
and my soul is swept up in joy.

- Uvavnuk (Iglulik Eskimo, 19th c.) 
- translated by Jane Hirshfield

Artist: Maureen L White, www.urbanpasturesart.com

I Find You in All These Things of the World

I find you in all these things of the world

that I love calmly, like a brother;

in things no one cares for, you brood like a seed;

and to powerful things you give an immense power.

Strength plays such a marvelous game --

it moves through the things of the world like a servant,

groping out in roots, tapering in trunks,

and in the treetops like a rising from the dead.

- Rainer Maria Rilke - 

Artist: Maureen L White, www.urbanpasturesart.com