Searching for God- Carolyn R. Wilker

 

Malachi writes in chapter 3:1 of his Old Testament book: “Look, I’m sending my messenger on ahead to clear the way for me. Suddenly, out of the blue, the Leader you’ve been looking for will enter his Temple…” (The Message)

Malachi may as well have been shouting from a rooftop with one of those megaphones we hear more than see at an outdoor baseball game. Further in the chapter we read that even though the descendants of Jacob have not listened well to God, he hasn’t destroyed them. He’s got something big coming that he believes will help them understand.

 In the revised common lectionary, Malachi’s text shows up in The Presentation of the Lord alongside the reference for Jesus’s baptism in Luke 2. A fitting pair. John the Baptist prepares the way for Jesus. God had a plan. We learn that it’s not just for the descendants of Jacob, but all people. Put that thought on hold for a moment.

If you’ve been in the big bookstore, you know where to find most things based on the signs above the rows of shelves. There’s fiction, books for children, texts on spirituality, music, art, religion, and poetry. Then all those gift items. If you’re looking for self-help, there’s a big section. Find just about anything there — how to manage your finances, how to sew, how to plant your garden. Seeking something deeper? It’s there too. If the store doesn’t have what you’re looking for, it can be ordered.

Back to looking for God, if you’re having trouble finding him. Where do you search? Do you find him in the mail-order catalog? On the bookstore shelves? A Little Library shelf? Just because you can order or pick up a print copy, or recording, of the Bible and sacred texts, doesn’t mean you automatically understand it.  

Read it, learn about it, and keep on learning. Sermons you’ve been hearing in worship services, or online, can help to understand context. You can also do a study of scripture, such as lectio divina. Is there someone you can study with?

The good news is that God can be found in the stories and teachings. You may feel him near you on a bad day. It could be that a person, acting as God’s hands or feet, may just help you get back up when you’ve fallen. Keep looking. You’ll find him.

 

 www.carolynwilker.ca

 

The Gift of Poetry by Eleanor Shepherd

         Recently, as an experienced writer, I was asked to participate in the evaluation of poetry. I felt ill equipped for the job but promised to at least read over the poems and offer my reflections on them.

            In my personal writing history, I have never made a serious attempt to create poetry, although I have been aware at times that when I am engrossed in writing about something about which I feel passionate, I can begin to sound poetic in the choice of metaphors and descriptors that I use to try to adequately relate the concepts that are so dear to me.

            I have always had an appreciate for the poetry written by others. My father encouraged this in me, as he often quoted poetry that he learned in school and wrote books of poetry. I remember one book of his that sold out quickly was a book of poetry that chronicled the life of the Apostle Peter, called Memoirs of Peter. He wrote another one that told the story of the life of the Apostle Paul in poetry. It was his influence that inspired me to take courses on Shakespeare at University and I loved the lectures and learning about the writing of one of the best loved poets in the English language. 

            My older brother also developed a love for poetry, and he wrote some of his own poems, but one of my significant childhood memories is him reading to me one of the poems of Robert Frost, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” If I remember correctly, he had to memorize the poem, so I listening to it frequently and knew it quite well before I got to his grade. I thought it was beautiful.

            One of the poems that I was obliged to memorize in school was Trees by Joyce Kilmer. The lines I loved the most were his first and last stanzas:

“I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.” …

“Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.”

            I totally agreed with his sentiment that trees were far more beautiful than poetry, but they did furnish subjects about which a poet could expound. I also loved the humility of his final stanza, recognizing that even our most beautiful creative expressions cannot compare with the gifts that God offers us.

            It is all about the words. Words are wonderful and I love them. It seems to me that there are two kinds of people. There are the people who love numbers and the people who love words. At least that is the way that it is in our house. My husband loves numbers. He amazes me with the way that he can handle them. I can ask him any question, however complicated about numbers and in a few seconds of mental gymnastics he can offer me an answer.

For me, I can’t even remember the simplest telephone number unless I write it down. However, words stick in my mind. I enjoy rolling them off my tongue or putting them together in new ways, just for the joy of hearing or reading them. To me they are magical. However, I usually create an order for them according to some logical progression that I envision. That is why I continue to read fiction, to feed my creative imagination. Otherwise, my writing would risk becoming too rigid and not allow enough room for the fluid movement and ambiguity that encourages readers to reflect as they read.

            My own efforts at poetry have been at best some rhyming lines created to be linked with simple melodies to try to express some of my feelings in worship. These I have kept to myself, as I know the quality would not make them useful for others, thus distracting rather than enhancing their worship. I leave the writing of song lyrics to my professional jazz musician daughter.

          

  What thrills me is the way that people like the Anglican priest poet Malcolm Guite can take words and make them magical by weaving them together in poetry that touches something deep inside us and connects us with eternity. Ironically, both my husband, the number lover and I the word lover find his poetry inspirational. It is poetry that comes close to measuring up to those beautiful natural wonders that God has made. I am so thankful for those who have received and honed this gift and offer it to us more mundane writers to encourage us to appreciate our words and use them creatively in our own endeavors. The God who makes the trees also bestows the gift of words.