Monday, April 24, 2017

In These Last Days, God has Spoken to Us in His Son

This is a poem or prayer, or meditation that I had lost for a long time, and did not have memorized.  I was glad to find it again.  Yesterday, someone shared that their professor on the book of Hebrews had claimed that almost all theological questions find answers in Hebrews.  I won't go that far, but it is certainly a rich book.  This is a meditation on Hebrews 1: 2-3, and since that's not a complete sentence, let me give you Hebrews 1:1-3:

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 


In these last days, God has spoken to us in His Son

A meditation on Hebrews 1:2-3

Jesus, you are appointed heir of all things.
You're the one the Father chose to have it all.
Keep me from grabbing, clutching things to myself.
In You, I have it all.
Apart from You, there's nothing left to own.

Jesus, through You the Father made the world.
The ages past, the present,
And all the future there will ever be
Were spoken into being through You.
And You made me.
You knew me, and planned me, held me in Your heart,
Before the beginning.

Jesus, You are the radiance of the Father's glory,
The light that shines forth from the blazing sun.
Help me be a true mirror,
With veils and masks stripped away,
So that I can catch Your light,
And shine it truly into the darkness I see.

Jesus, You are the perfect engraving
Of the Father's underlying essence,
The exact representation of His being.
I am like a coin that's blurred and fuzzy.
I long to be new-minted.
Melt me in the fire of Your love
And stamp Your image plainly on my heart.

Jesus, You uphold all things by the word of Your power,
By the spoken word that creates and brings forth life.
Hold me up, Lord.
Hold me together,
And speak Your powerful word into my life.

Jesus, You made purification of sins,
Cleansed, purged, made it right.
The work was finished, final, and complete.
Complete it in my heart, O Lord.
Bring your cleansing, purify my inmost being.

Jesus, You sat down
On the right hand of the Majesty of the Father.
Your work was finished, You entered into Your rest.
Bring me too into that Sabbath rest,
That having run the race, I may sit at Your feet
And worship You forever.

Amen.


(Why sunflowers?  I recently had a dream about growing sunflowers, and as I was waking up I questioned what sunflowers were about and immediately felt that sunflowers represented the fruit of relationship with the Son.  I am hoping that putting a picture in this post will reduce the likelihood that Facebook will associate this link with the Kiva logo.  Much as I like Kiva, I don't think that that picture encourages people to click through to this blog.)



Thursday, April 6, 2017

A Prayer from Hebrews 1

This is another poem being brought forward through my house-cleaning spree.  I finally found a copy of the first little book of poems I put together, long lost.

My first inductive Bible study, one that formally pushed us as a group to dig hard into what we were seeing in the text, was on the book of Hebrews, a book that before I studied it I had considered rather boring.  That study did two things for me.  One was that it awakened in me a longing to do more formal academic study of the Bible, and eventually led me to seminary.  The other was that one assignment suggested that we ask God for a poem or song related to what we were studying.  And that request led to all kinds of things.

This prayer is one of the first that came out of that request.  In case you haven't read Hebrews recently, here is a link to Hebrews 1, from which this poem came.

Father,

You have spoken to us through the prophets
In portions, a bit at a time–
And the word that you spoke overwhelms me,
Your law is so awesome and fine.

You spoke to the people through angels,
Great creatures of wind and of fire.
People shook at the visions in terror,
Such fear did their speaking inspire.

And now you have spoken in Jesus,
Not a shadow, but the brilliance of Your light.
The Word that created the planets
is spoken to us in the night.
The Word that holds all things together,
Came down to destroy all our sins.

When the world is changed like old clothing,
The Word that is Jesus will stand.
A better will never be spoken,
Through Him you have reached out Your hand.

The ears that I hear with are shallow,
The eyes I can see with are dim.
Father, speak Jesus into my being,
'Til my life is completed in Him.

Amen.