The new guy

 

Relentless messages

Constant uninvited updates

Random demands

Multiple personalities

Following the kindness of others

You were strange the first day

And even stranger still

Not quite an enigma

Just predicable

Unreliable

Untrustworthy

Annoying

No, I don’t want to leave

You leave

Go crash another car

You have been humored far too long

Everyone humors you far too long

Proving kindness to be overrated

And simplistic spirituality obnoxious 

Keep silence 

In a direction far away

Enjoy your unemployment and coffee

Palamas would be proud of your prayers

But you wouldn’t know

I don’t care even if I told you why

Your unending lists of God talk

They’re like refilling your bottle with piss

Offering it to quench my thirst

No, I don’t care for your gift

And I won’t bring penthos to your altar

I should have trusted my gut on day one

The obsessions

The insults

The demands

The shallow piety

Building nothing

Defending nothing

Sustaining nothing

But I get it

You’re right

You’re wronged

Let’s all live in your imaginary life

Where you provide spiritual direction

Inviting pagans into the divine

The light of mount Tabor

The love of Jesus Christ

The psalmody of your lunacy

Holywood

 

While crafting images of God

Into dysphoric xems and perselfs

Less archaic than thees and thous

We guzzle these natural flavors that plants crave

Meanwhile our priests fly cartoon robots

Telling us with confidence to imagine

We will be pumping our chests with oxygen

And our blood brain barrier with propylene glycol

So our grandchildren can visit 

Jetsonian vistas powered by Tesla panels

Once the hyperdrive is ready to project quantum particles

Amazon will be at the helm to deliver our goods

This new era has dawned with greater understanding

Black holes waiting to be colonized

So we can be like the stars of heaven

That Rare Icon

I remember the first time I met her

Glowing with life

Truly listening and passionate

About God’s glory

About God’s beauty

About God’s worth-ship

As months passed by, much more about her became evident

She is superlatively gifted and competent

Willing to sacrifice her time and money

Her energy and imagination

Her art and attention

Her love of Goodness for all

As years passed by, her servant heart was evident

Showering others with encouragement

Ennobling them with her ready ear

Her ready mind

Her ready heart

Her ready soul

Full of joy

Coupled with humbleness

Forthright in word and deed, yet with brutal honesty about her own mistakes and shortcomings

It’s rare to find someone like her:

Loving and caring beyond mere words, without hypocrisy, 

Yet also with healthy boundaries and a good sense for justice;

One who is tender-hearted and long suffering, with no strings attached, 

Yet still filled with tremendous Hope through tremendous losses

I have spoken about her with many others, and we all agree: 

She is a great friend, confidant, and counselor; 

the excellent and virtuous woman described in Proverbs; 

the joy of many who sorrow.

She is that rare icon one is graced to pray with, 

because knowing her is knowing Life Eternal

And profitable writing

 

Here we go again

Another apologetic

Whipping out shiny blades of tribal tradition 

To chop up uncertainty 

If the other won’t surrender

To the good news that his steel glistens

And is sharper than any two-edged sword

Then comes the twirly dance like a ninja ballerina

To show how conversant he is in his own culture

The point is to bedazzle

So the weapons of his warfare don’t actually get soiled

So then, be afraid boys and girls 

As the professional armchair samurais protect the clan

Don’t try this at home, the disclaimer reads

Carved into the thick air

These bad boys can pierce through soul and spirit

So beware

I then slowly withdraw my first defense

Reading loudly 

πᾶσα γραφὴ θεόπνευστος καὶ ὠφέλιμος πρὸς διδασκαλίαν, 

πρὸς ἐλεγμόν, πρὸς ἐπανόρθωσιν, 

πρὸς παιδείαν τὴν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, 

ἵνα ἄρτιος ᾖ ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος, 

πρὸς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἐξηρτισμένος

Everyone stares in silence 

Because they can’t see the mountain

Full of chariots of fire all around

And they don't even know what that means