The 60-Second Sabbath

Loss

  • Courage to Differ

    God grant methe courage to differ,to say "I disagree,"to question old precepts,to release past convictions,to see beyond scowls to good hearts within,to walk a seeking path hand-in-hand with the Beloved,to join the dance, to invite,to move on. Text and image… Continue reading

  • Snapshots

    I On vacation I was asked,"Why don't you take pictures of people?"It was both a question and an accusation. Because the you in the photono longer exists.Only you, now, exist. You are not that external form.You are what I hold… Continue reading

  • Good Friday

    The most horrifying words in scripture–in all of human history–are these: "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" At that moment, Jesus felt utter betrayal; he'd trusted in God, and he'd been duped. His faith ended at that… Continue reading

  • Holiday for the Hurting

    Good Friday is the one holiday designed for those who hurt, for the lonely, the sick, the dying, the alienated, the outcast, the confused, the disenfranchised. Here is God, being exactly all those things, feeling all of that, understanding it… Continue reading

  • Victory

    "Victory is mine!"boasts the executioner,holy writ in hand:"Now I chop off your head!" "No, victory is mine,"snarls the victim,holy writ in hand:"You'll burn forever in the fires of hell!" "Victory,"says God,with undertones of irony and amusement,"is not for the one… Continue reading

  • Holy Week

    For most of my life, the tender, sorrowful laments of Holy Week, more than the joyous, triumphant hymns of Easter, have attracted me… Continue reading

  • The Widow

    And now she is a widow walking into the dim parlor,pausing between their worn chairs,watching rain run down the window,listening to the unfamiliar silence,picking up the book she'd been reading,touching the top of the bookmark,sliding open the pages,finding the paragraph… Continue reading

  • To Be Undone

    At the speculum of spirit,unmask.At the mirror of candor,undress.Do you like what you see? To be with Godis to be undone. Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading

  • God Stopped By

    God stopped bywhile Adam was naming the animals. A black dog stepped forward:"Julian," said Adam. A long-haired cat:"Carla."  A brindled, full-uddered cow:"Samantha." God smiled and shook his head."No, Adam, that's not it.Give them generic names.Julian is a dog.Carla is a… Continue reading

  • Remembering and Discovering at the Same Time

    I am an admirer of the poet David Whyte. Even when David speaks about poetry, it is poetry. Listen to some of the ways he describes the art of the poem: remembering and discovering at the same time a conversation… Continue reading