Our Jesus: Stumbling block or cornerstone?
Imaginative prayer makes the Jesus of the Gospels our Jesus. It helps us develop a unique and personal relationship with him. .. to know Jesus as more than a name or a historical figure in a book… David L. Fleming, SJ
On my way to meet Jesus
I trip over ‘abouts’
… only son
… begotten not made
… died to pay off my sin
I wrestle with Constantine’s bishops
… close my eyes
… hold my aching head
… curse their stumbling blocks
Jesus, Jesus,
I lament
… today
… every day
Holy Church steals your breath
… buries you in creeds and canons
… carves your words in stone
No wonder I wander
… alone
… eyes full of foreboding
… forgetting your way
… deaf to your word
Rabbi Jesus
it is you who deliver Israel’s word of faith
… to Jews and Gentiles
… sick and sinful
… woebegone, misbegotten and me
“Hear, O Israel, Adonai (the Lord) is One God. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.”
… knowing I am deaf and dull
… you add another verse
“Love your neighbor as your self.”
… clear for me the way
… to incarnate Israel’s word of faith
Jesus, Rabbi Jesus
… my stumbling block
… my teacher
what will it take for me to make
… your living word
… the cornerstone of my faith?
Poem by Debra Asis
The David L. Fleming SJ quote is found in today’s selection in An Ignatian Book of Days by Jim Manney, a series of daily reflections from the Spiritual Wisdom of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Throughout the book we hear the voices of St. Ignatius as well as many great thinkers and writers, long gone and present day, each uniquely revealing the way of finding God in all things.And that is my intention; to find God/Divine Presence/Ultimate Reality in whatever presents itself to me each day in 2024.
Each day I read, reflect and write on the selection, hoping to articulate the ways in which I come to know God/Divine Presence/Ultimate Reality via personal experience, impelled by the leading of my inner life.
INVITATION
Would you like to join me? The book is accessible on Amazon. Let me know in the comments to this post and sign up to get an email whenever I post. I would love to read your reflections too, public or private messages welcome!
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https://www.debraasis.org
All words are generated by grace and the grit of a real human being,
Debra Asis
