Poets & Saints

Scripture   Lamentations 3:31–33 (NRSVUE, abridged)    For the Lord will not reject forever.   Although he causes grief,   he will have compassion   according to the abundance of his steadfast love;   for he does not willingly afflict   or grieve anyone. Refrain   I return again and again. Quote / Prose   Jon...

Scripture   Psalm 23:4 (NRSVUE)    Even though I walk through the darkest valley,   I fear no evil;   for you are with me;   your rod and your staff—   they comfort me. Refrain   I stay with what is. Quote / Prose   Pema Chödrön , from *When Things Fall Apart*   “To stay present with pain and not run away fro...

Scripture   1 Corinthians 6:19 (NRSVUE, abridged)    Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,   which you have from God…   and that you are not your own? Refrain   God meets me in my body. Quote / Prose   Bessel van der Kolk “The body keeps the score:   if the memory of trauma is encoded in the v...

Scripture   Psalm 46:10 (NRSVUE)    “Be still, and know that I am God.” Refrain   I notice without fixing. Quote / Prose   Jon Kabat-Zinn , from *Wherever You Go, There You Are*   “Mindfulness is about being fully awake in our lives.   It is about perceiving the exquisite vividness   of each moment.   We also gain imme...

Scripture   Genesis 2:7 (NRSVUE)    Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground,   and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;   and the man became a living being. Refrain   I return to the breath. Quote / Poem   George Herbert “Teach me, my God and King,   In all things Thee to see;   And what I do...

Scripture   Matthew 2:12 (NRSVUE)    And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,   they left for their own country   by another road. Refrain   I walk by the light I have been given. Quote / Poem   Teresa of Ávila    “Let nothing disturb you,   Let nothing frighten you,   All things are passing...

Scripture   Psalm 139:1–5 (NRSVUE, abridged)    O Lord, you have searched me and known me.   You know when I sit down and when I rise up;   you discern my thoughts from far away.   You search out my path and my lying down,   and are acquainted with all my ways.   Even before a word is on my tongue,   O Lord, you know i...

Scripture   Luke 24:30–31 (NRSVUE, abridged)    When he was at the table with them,   he took bread, blessed and broke it,   and gave it to them.   Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him…   and he vanished from their sight. Refrain   My eyes are opening. Quote / Poem   Emily Dickinson    “The So...

Scripture   Exodus 3:1–6 (NRSVUE)    Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian;   he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.   There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush;   he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. &nb...

Scripture   Isaiah 60:1–2 (NRSVUE)    Arise, shine; for your light has come,   and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.   For darkness shall cover the earth,   and thick darkness the peoples;   but the Lord will arise upon you,   and his glory will appear over you. Refrain   God’s light meets me where I am. Quote...

Scripture   Micah 6:8 (NRSVUE)    He has told you, O mortal, what is good;   and what does the Lord require of you   but to do justice, and to love kindness,   and to walk humbly with your God? Refrain   What I offer is enough. Quote / Poem   Dorothy Day “We cannot love God   unless we love each other,   and...

Scripture   Lamentations 3:22–23 (NRSVUE)    The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,   his mercies never come to an end;   they are new every morning;   great is your faithfulness. Refrain   I begin again in grace. Quote / Poem   Henri Nouwen , from *The Return of the Prodigal Son*   “Returning is not a one-time e...

Scripture   Proverbs 16:9 (NRSVUE)    The human mind plans the way,   but the Lord directs the steps. Refrain   I set my heart toward love. Quote / Poem   Howard Thurman   “Don’t ask what the world needs.   Ask what makes you come alive,   and go do it.   Because what the world needs   is people who have...

Scripture   Psalm 46:10 (NRSVUE)    “Be still, and know that I am God!   I am exalted among the nations,   I am exalted in the earth.” Refrain   This moment is where God meets me. Quote / Poem   Brother Lawrence “We can do little things for God;   I turn the cake that is frying on the pan   for love of Him,  ...

Scripture   Isaiah 43:18–19 (NRSVUE)    Do not remember the former things,   or consider the things of old.   I am about to do a new thing;   now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?   I will make a way in the wilderness   and rivers in the desert. Refrain   I release what no longer gives life. Quote / Poem &...

Scripture   Colossians 1:27 (NRSVUE)    Christ in you, the hope of glory. Refrain   Christ lives in me. Quote / Poem   Richard Rohr    “The Christ Mystery   is not something to admire from a distance.   It is something to participate in.   God has chosen to dwell   not merely among us,   but within...

Scripture   Matthew 1:23 (NRSVUE)    “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,   and they shall name him Emmanuel,”   which means, “God is with us.” Refrain   God is with us. Quote / Poem   Dietrich Bonhoeffer , from *God Is in the Manger*   “God is not ashamed of the lowliness of human beings.   God marches rig...

Scripture   Luke 2:6–7    While they were there, the time came for Mary to deliver her child.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son  and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place in the guest room. Refrain   God is found in the ordinary. Quote / Poem   Madeleine L’Engle , from Walking on Water “There is n...

Scripture   John 1:14 (NRSVUE)    And the Word became flesh and lived among us,   and we have seen his glory,   the glory as of a father’s only son,   full of grace and truth. Refrain   God is closer than I imagined. Quote / Poem   Meister Eckhart    “God is nearer to me than I am to myself.   My being depend...

Scripture   Luke 1:38 (NRSVUE)    Then Mary said,   “Here am I, the servant of the Lord;   let it be with me according to your word.”   Then the angel departed from her. Refrain   I make room for God. Quote / Poem   Jan Richardson    “This is a season   for making room—   for letting the heart ...

Scripture   Deuteronomy 33:27 (NRSVUE)    The eternal God is your dwelling place,   and underneath are the everlasting arms. Refrain   I am held in God. Quote / Poem   Julian of Norwich    “For I saw no wrath in God,   only mercy.   And I saw that we are all held,   and shall be held,   in love—&nbs...

Scripture   1 John 4:16 (NRSVUE)    So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.   God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God,   and God abides in them. Refrain   God’s love moves through me. Quote / Poem   Howard Thurman    “When love is present,   it does not force its way.   It cre...

Scripture   Philippians 2:3 (NRSVUE)    Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,   but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Refrain   I am free to be small and loved. Quote / Poem   Meister Eckhart    “The more completely you are able   to empty yourself,   the more room God has to act within you.&n...

Scripture   Habakkuk 2:3 (NRSVUE)    For there is still a vision for the appointed time;   it speaks of the end and does not lie.   If it seems to tarry, wait for it;   it will surely come, it will not delay. Refrain   I trust the slow work of God. Quote / Poem   Parker J. Palmer , from *Let Your Life Speak*   “Before...

Scripture   John 15:4 (NRSVUE)    Abide in me as I abide in you.   Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself   unless it abides in the vine,   neither can you unless you abide in me. Refrain   I choose to abide in love. Quote / Poem   Evelyn Underhill    “The spiritual life is not a career of effort   bu...