healing
-
The Ear
I. It is the betrayal in the garden,and one of his disciples decides–bizarrely–to cut off a servant's ear; you wonder what his thought process was:"If I just cut off…let's see…that guy's ear…things will be okay." Really? "No," says Jesus, healing… Continue reading
-
Descend, Night
Descend, night,and still our troubled spirits.Dream us to your meadowwhere suffering ceasesand misaligned souls reconcile. Descend night,and heal us. Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading
-
Rest, My Love
Rest, my love.The clouds that now confound your spiritwill drift on by midnight,and the moon's cool light shall soothe you. Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading
-
Advent 1
I hear the blareof ancient, dented, tarnished trumpets:judgment day? Am I ready? "Relax," says God,"These mothballed tootersannounce reconciliation (not punishment),healing (not diagnosis),transformation (not exposure),a massive promotion (not downsizing).These honks haul y'all heavenward." With a grin as wide as all creationand… Continue reading
-
A Headline for the World
If, tomorrow morning, you had the opportunityto put your one, best line of adviceon the front page of every newspaper,or every website,across the globe,what would it be?If you could boil downto one two- to six-word headlinethe organzing concept of your… Continue reading
-
Isaiah and the “Savior”
Isaiahrefers to God as "Savior"nearly as often as does the New Testament.But as "Savior,"God liberates from oppression,leads the exiled home,heals the sick–and not in some unknown future afterlife,but here and now,in this world and this time. In our world and… Continue reading
-
Balm
Our Garden of Edenis realand waits for uswithin a circleof burning fields. Reaching Paradisedemands sacrifice–a long walk through searing heat,watching our skin char and peel,smelling our blackening flesh,knowing the burn of loss. And then…the cool shade of ancient elms,the sloshing… Continue reading
-
The Well
In the corner of your gardenovergrown with weeds and grasseshides a well so long abandonedthat your spirit daily passesinches from its massive stoneworkclueless that its rusting bucketand the rope that's close to breakingcould in fact provide the waterthat your face… Continue reading
-
Impossibilities
Gabriel appears to Mary,scans her heart,scares the bejesus into her.She drops the mending,the basket of eggs,the water jug,the familiar, known and comfortable.Reaching back…back…back into their shared story,this shattering, shimmering apparition speaks:"We can't do this. God can."…and Mary's heart and womb… Continue reading