Doorposts: Sacred Yes and Sacred No

Christine at the Abbey of the Arts writes these words in her invitation to this week’s Poetry Party where the theme is “Guardians of the Threshold”

 

“The feminine with its archetype of welcoming, nurturing, enfolding energy is the Sacred Yes of our lives — all those things, people, and opportunities we embrace.  The masculine with its archetype of boundary setting and protection (think warrior) is the Sacred No of our lives — the healthy setting of limits and protectors of our gifts and energies so we don’t over-extend ourselves.”

 

 

Inviting words with a delightful image to ponder… I’m considering searching for just the right creature to sit at the door of new home.  As I try to converse with this image, most of my words are getting tangled up in details of moving and the stuff of boxes, but these few words come forth:

 

 

 

 

Let her Yes mean Yes

Fully, sincerely

Firmly, honestly

Coming from her core

Honored by all

May her Yes be a “Sacred Yes”

Let her No mean No

Fully, sincerely,

Firmly, honestly

Coming from her core

Honored by all

May her No be a “Sacred No”

 

 Woven into living

together each yes and no

sustain life

set boundaries

nurture hope

redeem wounds

honor the Holy One

delight the Spirit

 

May it be so!

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A Lush Green Tangle of Life

 

Vine and branches. 

Abiding and bearing fruit. 

Staying connected and showing compassion. 

Prayer and action.

Once again balance was offered as a way of living in God’s world.  And on this Mother’s Day we were reminded of the intimate relationship between caring for ourselves and others and caring for the earth.    As a tangible expression of this dimension of our faith, we shared in the “Greening of the Cross”: flowers of all kinds were brought forth and placed on the cross as an expression of gratitude or honor or prayer for someone special in our lives.  This resulted in a lush tangle of green, a weaving together of lives lived fully in the past and present, all symbolizing our life together and our abiding in the presence of the Holy One.  It was simply beautiful.

 

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They Walk, We Walk

 On a beautiful Sunday afternoon in May

we walk a distance of our choosing,

 5 miles or 1 mile or around the park block,

sporting comfortable shoes with perhaps a water bottle in tow.

Chatting with friends, we anticipate the snack we’ll enjoy afterwards.

                  

Every day, of every month, year after year,

they walk a distance already determined by need,

5 miles, or 8 kilometers, or more,

with or without shoes,

no water bottle in tow because they’re walking

to bring back the water, or food, or fire fuel needed for that day,

so they can return again tomorrow for more.

Chatting with family and friends,

they anticipate the work that has to be done before a simple meal is eaten.

                                

                

Earlier on that Sunday morning,

we gathering around the Table,

remembering hunger is more than physical

tho it begins there.

In his words, “this is my body, broken for you,

do this in remembrance of me,”

we hear the call to take steps

to fill the hunger of others.

We choose to walk because they have to walk.

 

 

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