Come, Holy Spirit...

 Chag Shavuot Sameach!

Happy Pentecost!

ACTS, CHAPTER 2

 

Sometimes—

when I read my Bible

I imagine myself

there, in the rumpled, dog-eared pages

where and when remarkable things

were happening

 

For instance—

Oh, I wish I could’ve been

in the room that morning in Jerusalem

on the Day of Pentecost

when an astonishing sound

of rushing wind came from Heaven

and filled the place with the Holy Spirit

 

wish I could’ve been among

the crowd of bewildered people

clutching garments and belongings

securing food baskets and money bags

amid the sound of whirring wind

wondering what was going on

 

I would’ve seen with startled eyes

blazing tongues of fire appear

then split and rest above us all

would’ve heard the Galileans

miraculously uttering languages

they did not know

proclaiming good news

to people of every nation

 

Oh, joy! Euphoria!

 

I would’ve heard

preposterous ridicule and accusations

that we were drunk with wine

Drunk with wine so early in the morning!

 

Had I been there, I would’ve seen

Peter stand with his brethren

and quote the prophet, Joel

and speak of Jesus

Crucifixion, Resurrection

and call us to repent

 

and finally, would’ve witnessed

three thousand souls receive salvation

and I would’ve been in that number

 

Oh! How great that would’ve been

How exciting to imagine

 

but, I didn’t need to be there

God had other plans—

 

On another Holy Pentecost

His Spirit came to rest on me

just as surely as it did

on the early believers

in Jerusalem, that day

 

and just the same as they

I have been changed

 

forever

 

Maude Carolan Pych

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!

by Maude Carolan Pych

is available online

at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, etc.

www.maudecarolanpych.net

We Visit Jacob's Well...

 

A CUP OF WATER FROM JACOB’S WELL

Israel Pilgrimage—1986

 

We arrive at Shechem

and make our way

to Jacob’s Well

 

It surprises me to find

this ancient water source

that I first read about in Genesis

still operating

 

and I’m astonished

to be offered

a refreshing cupful

drawn deeply

from a bucket on a rope

 

The water is clear and cool

and tastes ordinary, but

what can be ordinary

about water drawn

from the very well

of the old patriarch

built 4000 years ago

the very well

where Jesus revealed Himself

as the Messiah

to a woman of Samaria

 

I purchase a small ceramic urn

filled with an ounce or so

of life’s most basic sustenance

It is sealed with a plug of wax

 

I’ll place it on a shelf at home

not because of any

mystical or magical powers

 

(It is ordinary water, after all)

 

but to remind me

of how far back in time

God’s amazing story goes

 

Maude Carolan Pych

Here I am, at a local Barnes & Noble,

with a copy of my book,

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

by Maude Carolan Pych.

You can find it online

at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, CBD, etc.

www.maudecarolanpych.net

"Abba, Father..."

 

Image credit: "A Branch in the Vine"

THE GOSPEL, BEFORE MY EYES

Israel Pilgrimage—1986

 

It happened so fast

so naturally

in Jerusalem's Cardo

while I was

in Israel

on pilgrimage

that I didn’t grasp

the profound significance

until afterward—

 

Double doors opened

A tall bearded man

wearing a yarmulke

entered at a leisurely pace

 

Moments later

the doors were pushed again

by a sobbing boy

no more than five or six

He ran in, wailing:

 

Abba…Abba!

Abba… Abba!

 

The father turned around

and swooped his child

into his arms

 

In an instant

the boy's tears

turned

to laughter

 

Maude Carolan

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

by Maude Carolan Pych

is available online

at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

www.maudecarolanpych.net

Blow a Shofar in Zion

 

MARCO SOUNDS THE SHOFAR

Israel Pilgrimage—2006

 

Marco bought a shofar in Galilee—

a long and spiraled Yemenite shofar

made from the horn

of a kudo antelope

 

With a deep and steady breath

Marco blows its harrowing thunder

over the Mount of Olives

the Western Wall

the Jordan River

and just about every site

we visit in holy Zion

 

trumpeting its long distinctive wail

to jolt us from our complacency—

 

Wake up!

 

Warning all hearers:

 

Prepare! Repent!

 

Wake up! Oh Sleepers—

Wake up! and follow the Lord, your God!

 

Anne brought her tambourine

from New Jersey—

It’s shaped like a Star of David

Colorful ribbons stream

from its six points

 

Like Miriam, Anne lifts it high

and dances with delight

praising Adonai with worshipful women

from all over the world

as their swirling skirts sweep the ground

It’s Shabbat, in Jerusalem

at the Western Wall

 

and I bought a tallit in Tiberius—

blue and white like the Israeli flag

with knotted fringes in the corners

to remind me God’s promises are true

 

a traditional prayer shawl

to wrap snuggly around my shoulders

like God’s loving arms

enfolding me

as I pray

 

Maude Carolan Pych

Would you like to read more poems?

"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"

by Maude Carolan Pych

is available online

at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

www.maudecarolanpych.net