Author: JFig

30 Days in Gennesaret: Day 13, My Friend Alex

JFigLeave a comment

And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

“Mark 6:56 (NIV) – And wherever he went into villages.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 14 Apr, 2020. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/niv/mar/6/56/p1/s_963056&gt;.

 

My Friend Alex

My friend Alex

strolls the marketplace

perusing.

She has a keen eye for color.

Vivid humanity

invites her back the next day.

 

My friend Alex

surveys the market

appraising.

Shades in justice catch her eye.

She leaves

paint swatches in hand.

 

My friend Alex

hurries to the market – determined.

“Examine these hues

marked disparity…”

Home…market

Something is amiss.

 

My friend Alex

storms the market:

“Why?”   “How long, O Lord?”

“Where is equitable?”

Day after day

she carries questions on the palette of her heart.

 

My friend Alex

‘moves’ to the market.

Study the fabric:

this Jesus garment.

It takes hours,

often days.

 

“Teacher, What does it cost

to allow one’s heart to be broken?”

 

jfig   2/2020

 

What questions is Jesus writing on the palette of your heart? Is there something to which he is calling your attention? 

 

30 Days in Gennesaret: Easter Tim’s Poem

JFigLeave a comment

Tim’s Poem

My husband is a man of succinct words, much preferring the efficiency of a short video clip to the expansiveness of pages. But he listened quietly when I told him about 30 Days in Gennesaret, and Jesus healing the sick; how the scene intrigues with its words ‘all’ and ‘marketplace’. He listened about the juxtaposition of pandemic, and how the thirty days of April provide a creative vehicle.

Then he said,

 

Yes,

and then came Easter

and Jesus healed the whole world.

 

tfig     3/2020

IMG_5101

The construction of this cross was prompted by the creative mind of Carlo Furlan, and the willing hands of Tim Figgie. You can find Carlo’s music here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/CarloFurlanMusic/

30 Days in Gennesaret is a creative reflection project focused upon the scene of Jesus healing the sick in the region of Gennesaret. The scene is described in Mark 6: verses 53-56. In the passage, it states that all around the region, people brought their sick to the marketplaces. And Jesus healed them when they touched his cloak. For the next few days, this word marketplace will seed our poems.

30 Days in Gennesaret: Day 10 Six Feet Day 11 Forever

JFigLeave a comment

SIX FEET

Maybe this year, we will not crucify Him

Six feet

Step back

Reassess

No mob, nor riot

Shouting “Crucify”

 

Step back!

Maybe this year, we will not crucify him

Distancing ourselves

From our fears

Character unknown

In such proximity.

 

Perhaps we will

Interrogate ourselves

Willfulness or honest conviction?

Which draws me

To the bedside

Of another’s pain?

 

Attend: Dare I exploit

Frail posture of another

For power

Or gain?

Maybe this year

We will not crucify him.

jfig   3/20

 

Dear Reading Friends, I thought I would not write a poem today. Instead, I found myself writing two – one for tomorrow – and being invited to reflect on these words from Jesus. I share them with the humility of needing them as much as anyone.  jfig

” This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”    Luke 22:10

“Why are you sleeping,” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”    Luke 22:46

“Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”    Luke 22:48

The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.”     Luke 22:61

They asked then, “Are you the Son of God?”

He replied, “You say that I am.”     Luke 22:70

A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”‘ For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”     Luke 23:28-31

“Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.     Luke 23:34

“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”     Luke 23:43

“Luke 22:1 (NIV) – Now the Festival of Unleavened.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 10 Apr, 2020. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/niv/luk/22/1/p1/s_995001&gt;.

 

Lord Jesus, I am astounded that your gaze finds so many faces in the crowd, my face –   even as you are dying. You tell me the truth, don’t you? No one else invites me to be so honest with myself, and yet receive compassion. At this wide open altar of your making, I lay down – exchange – my fear and arrogance, for your words of invitation and truth. May they become the pillars on which I stake my living.  In your precious name,  Amen

Forever

One never imagines

Suffering an invitation

Yet here it is

His pain carrying mine

across his back.

 

His agony in the garden

beckons—

Living,

to choose dying

“Stay with me.”

 

And as our best efforts crumble

He stays with us

Forever.

jfig     4/2020

pic imprint2

 

“Luke 22:1 (NIV) – Now the Festival of Unleavened.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 10 Apr, 2020. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/niv/luk/22/1/p1/s_995001&gt;.

30 Days in Gennesaret: Day 9 My Sister is Sick

JFigLeave a comment

Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13 NLT

I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me. John 10:14 NLT

Today’s poem captures snippets of conversations I have had with a friend who has suffered much.  It alludes to the question that perhaps we all raise in one way or another, “Why does a good God allow suffering?” To really grapple with the question takes a certain amount of bravery, let alone live the stories that prompt it. Following the poem, is a scaffolding of scripture references from which to explore further if you are interested.

My Sister is Suffering

My sister is suffering,

years now into it

breathing loss in pinched increments

as if it were air.

My heart rends a little each day

waiting.

 

Translucent

her beauty,

shines through

as if the holes

filled in

with flowers.

 

“Jesus is here!

In Gennesaret.”

We conversed

on our hurried way.

I asked

“How will we know…?”

 

She said simply

“I wait each day—

his sustaining glance

his whispers round suffering

his assurance of keeping

I wait each day.”

 

“His voice I know

His whispered caress

‘Easy, my child

you’ve nothing to fear.

I am with you in pain

My strength will suffice.’

 

So filled up with Jesus,

this sister of mine

“Oh, Brother, I’ll know Him

It will take but a touch.

I’ll know him, dear brother—

let’s hurry, let’s fly.”

jfig     3/2020

 

Psalm 27:  John 17:3;  Romans 5:1-5;  Romans 8:16; I Corinthians 1:23,24;  John 10:14

Psalm 27:13 Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Photo was taken by Cathy Barger Hoesterey near Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I chose this photo for the fierceness with which this young girl cares for her siblings.

 

30 Days in Gennesaret: Day 8 Helper, Helper

JFigLeave a comment

Helper, Helper

My soul yearns

to see this thing done—

healing painted over

my friend’s story

in glorious color

She likes pink.

 

In despair I bow my head

touching the stone named

How can this be…

and hear Jesus whisper,

“It is not she who needs the miracle,

my child.”

 

Deep inside that web of heart and soul

where sustaining hope

and willed goodness try to seed

and flourish,

my seeds – often

are earthbound.

 

We need Jesus

who ever cultivates

the hope of eternity.

Eternity—

that country where ‘help’

is defined.

jfig     3/2020

 

Mark 6:53-56 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. They ran throughout the whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever the heard he was. And wherever he went – into villages, towns or countryside – they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed. 

“Mark 6:53 (NIV) – When they had crossed over.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 8 Apr, 2020. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/niv/mar/6/53/p1/s_963053&gt;.

At times, the weight of another’s pain, feels more than I can bear. This poem alludes to the positive motives in that desire – goodness, hope – but I have sometimes felt the need to see others well for reasons of fear, exhaustion, boredom, the need for reassurance that Jesus truly can heal, that there is hope. Mercifully, God never loses sight of where we are going on this journey called faith.

Ephesians 1:11-14; John 4:13,14; I Peter 1:3-5

 

30 Days in Gennesaret: Day 7 Hope is Lean

JFigLeave a comment

waiting…we are not very practiced at it nowadays. Jesus healing in Gennesaret does not (I think,) preclude any waiting that may have occurred that day, or even for long seasons before. This poem is a perspective on waiting midst suffering, for healing to come.

Hope is Lean

Hope is lean

Her oiled sinews stretch

Straining toward belief.

Precipice after precipice

She clings.

 

Hope is lean

Conditioned.

As hardship disciplines

She perseveres

While God sculpts charity.

 

Hope is lean

Earth’s fleshy questions litter about;

she scavenges for precept

some days haggard, hungry.

Bold precept remains,

Midst empty wrappers

Of fear and uncertainty.

 

Questions remain.

They, too, grow lean with examination.

Deceptions strip away

Expose this truth:

It is God who clings.

 

Still, desperation beckons

Tests one’s strength.

Gutsy—hope resists;

The recklessness of despair

is a deep crevasse.

 

Hope is lean

Suffering’s muscled core.

It is Almighty God who clings.

jfig   11/19

close up photo of plastic bottle
Photo by Catherine Sheila on Pexels.com

 

1.Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.  NLT

3-5. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. NLT

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

30 Days in Gennesaret: Day 6 In the Weeds

JFigLeave a comment

I am here, Jesus

tripped, in the weeds,

caught on a pricker

starting to bleed.

 

My friends were helping

pointing the way

but when I fell

they all ran away

 

I suppose you know

Just how that feels

Restore me, Sweet  Jesus

Find me today.

jfig   3/2020

 

Dear Friend, So many times in the journey of faith, I have gotten lost.  For a moment – or for days. Precious moments go by, as I try to pick myself up, dust myself off, fix my appearance, so that no one will know I am hurting. But Jesus does not seem to care about appearances. What he seems to welcome is the offering of honesty. When I entrust Jesus with the painful truth, it is then that he changes me. And his artistry is always better than mine.

Jesus, I’m grateful that you are powerful to heal and humble to invite, the likes of me into community with you. Amen

30 Days in Gennesaret: Day 5 No Ordinary Thread

JFigLeave a comment

No ordinary thread

this simple length of hemp

fringing the journey from

manger to the cross.

 

No ordinary thread

dye saturated with holiness;

still damp

from walking on water.

 

Priestly garb, this

to finger lightly,

having brushed blood, and hunger

death and demon stench.

 

Count the miracles

strand by strand by strand.

‘Tis just a touch

but choosing,  one could weave a lifetime

eternal.

jfig     3/2020

 

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you, “Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

“Matthew 14:22 (NIV) – Immediately Jesus made the disciples.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 5 Apr, 2020. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/niv/mat/14/22/p1/s_943022&gt;.

 

Things to ponder: In this expanded passage, both Peter, and the sick, are reaching toward Jesus. What does it feel like to you personally, to ‘reach’ for Jesus? What holds you back?

What would it look like to ‘choose’ Jesus in your current circumstances?  Luke 4:18-21

 

 

Apartments

JFigLeave a comment

For all those quarantined in apartments; this blessing of keeping for you…

As you descend the levels of quarantine

may you be protected by the ‘natural supports’ of the bark which encloses you

nurtured in your micro-habitat by all which bustles there in creative industry

upheld by strengths beyond yourself.

May you be enlivened in the company

of those above and beneath you

in new definition of belonging —

intimacy reassessed.

May you ascend the rungs of quarantine

enriched by beauty

you had not imagined.

God grant you peace, hope, and love

from those watching from afar;

we see the signal fires of your watchtowers

a welcome alert that you.are.here.

Amen

 

jfig

 

RW pic spider apartment
spider condo

30 Days in Gennesaret: Formation Day 4

JFigLeave a comment

Formation

I have lain in the dust

I have borne a pallet

Undone by mercy – my heart has been changed by each

 

Encounter—who is this Jesus

whose vestments vibrate

sage power to heal

 

Heal quickly , my soul

Heal quickly

This Jesus, I must follow

 

I have lain in the dust

I have borne a pallet

…might I wash his feet?

This Jesus, I must follow

jfig     3/2020

 

Dear Reader, we encounter Jesus from so many different postures as we go through life. I hate to think of some of the stances I have taken as He has approached. In using reflection as a tool, I find it helpful to ponder those different roles and attitudes. Where are you today, with regard to Covid-19? Are you fearful, resigned, waiting to see what happens? How does where you have been in the past, inform what you need today? Jesus is nearby; with what will you encounter Him?  Thanks for reading… jfig

PS. I chose this image for its attitude of enthusiasm.