All Things New [Arising From Reflection On Module # 296]

To see my home as foreign land –
Objectively to understand
My presence in this entity,
Is different now I’m here in Thee.

I different was throughout my life
As TCK; through all the strife;
As exile from my kith and kin –
And now again as we begin.

I’d struggled ’neath a chafing load,
As he pushed hard with worded goad;
His social milieu differed much,
And through his words, I heard Your touch.

“Again, O Lord?!” I blurted out,
As I perceived what they’re about;
Despite that recent London tone,
This exile place was not my home.

How clearly I recall her frame,
That weaver from whose loom there came
Such works of art – I have one still –
An Anglican, whose exile will –

Remain a part of memory –
Their changes to the liturgy
Destroyed its beauty with its slang,
So to our worship place she came.

“I have no expectations here”,
She said one day, and made it clear
She was in exile – ninety years –
Who needed God and people near.

That’s how I felt within this land;
Today I’ve come to understand
This is a mission-field, alas,
And there’s a wall that’s made of glass –

It separates, reveals to me
The parts of life which I must see –
With camera lens of perfect glass
Through which this life’s revealed at last.

I see so clearly through one eye
(The other, shingles wrecked, so I
Can only half-perceive through it,
But mind within makes perfect fit).

There’s “Somebody’s” who rule the place;
There’s “Nobodies” viewed with disgrace
By those who value rich o’er poor,
As James said not to be a doer.

I see the poor – downtrodden folk
Who bend their weight to plow and yoke;
Push rocks like Sisyphus up hills,
Which roll back down and crush their wills.

I see the needless waste of life,
Arising from allergic strife,
As giftings (and their clusters) clash,
And deep desires fade out at last.

I see two ditches as before –
One capital with well-hung door;
One social with its bleeding heart;
Each to the other blows impart.

And in the center lies a Way;
The ditches on each side will stay
That frame each – insights, values seen,
Can be drawn up from mean and mean.

I see it all – for nothing’s new;
The same-old-same-old fills my view;
But suddenly my context’s changed,
And all of this is re-arranged.

For now I see the place I stand
Within this Giver-Finance land –
I’m on the road, my staff in hand,
With photo graphic task I can –

Do – not to blame, or this condemn,
But rather body-life amend;
For body parts each other need,
Thus I am here to body feed.

It is my context; it’s my world;
It’s where I live within life’s swirl;
I see it in our project too –
“Behold I’m making all things new”.

Lord, thanks for this new view of things;
Refreshment which new vision brings;
So simple yet, as seen before –
“Change point of view – see so much more”.

“My way of doing life” had changed;
As project rose it re-arranged,
To do the parts assigned to me;
Huge changes that shift brought to be.

My “focus” also had a shift,
As former task I felt you lift
From me as locus of concern,
Once target of my quest I’d learned.

But now, “perspective” is the part
You’ve changed in me, like tool in art
Which helps one’s vision be refreshed,
By ‘boring’ mind up from its rest.

Lord, what a difference this has made!
The road ahead is firmly laid,
And on its surface I see me –
Apostle in his field I see.

And all these other parts of life,
Which generated so much strife,
Are context – disengaged I am –
Not in, but on this world I can –

Now view what I’d not seen before –
A world with problems, yes, and more
Than that, for people long to be,
Within a good community.

It’s not my job to fix it up;
My photos don’t reveal the rough
Spots in this context – they’re well-known;
But rather, catch those parts of home –

Which is our better place above;
Where Father-God reveals His love
To us as we fix up our place,
With visions of a human race –

At one in Him; renewed within;
Our pasts behind with all their sin
(Rebellion from His gracious love);
With body-life – one – like above.

And then disciple in this mess –
Prosperity with righteousness –
For long-term is this project new,
Far more than one short life can do.

So just like Jesus – build a team;
And show them how to build with keen
Anticipation, that some day
These folks will with each other play –

In unity of mind and heart;
Conformity no vital part,
But blessed with rich diversity –
This patch of God’s community.

My part concerns a world of cash –
The work-exchange where folks can ask
Of life, just-equity return,
So they a living-wage can earn.

Not just-us here in first world bliss,
But ’round the world – engaged in this
Approach to life – a body part
Infused with love from God’s own heart.

Lord, for this vision of my task,
Which lies ahead – of which I asked
For guidance, I pour out my thanks;
The thrill that’s mine is one that ranks –

Right up there with the best of times,
When life for me was so sublime –
Relief – release – clear view around
This place I stand – new life I’ve found.

navigation