Waiting For You

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* John, Phillip, Nathaniel, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #IamNathaniel

+------Waiting For You; Nathaniel Revealing His Prior Thoughts Beneath The Fig Tree Upon Meeting Jesus 

Under the fig tree I mused,
a wolf surveying the skyline
dappled with glimmering of stars
before howling, about the prospect
of demise of the Empire (Caesar’s).
How even Achilles, implacable, had
a vulnerability, at least one. That
for Hebrews, these privations of
justice are too many. Too
many women snatched by Roman
guards, scuffed shields always bloody,
the foul stench of skin unwashed; At
synagogue too many babies gaunt, shrieking.
I thought: “Moses, you promised us
a Savior. Where is he? Its time.”

------John 1:43-51
The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”.

Not Tempted

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Matthew, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #

+------Not Tempted; Jesus' Response To Satan In The Wilderness

I have known, in this plane,
post-Edenic decay, disenchantment;
An eagle, wings clipped, in
a frenzied tailspin plunging
from celestial tufts of clouds
now bipedal. Talons submerged
in mud, waste, byproduct of
mortals. Of this I know you’re
familiar: discharged in dishonor, a
blazing ball cratering the ground
of an illusory kingdom. And we
both know what glitters here
isnt gold. Dross of dying pervasive,
man’s misery like dregs of
black holes, Hell’s masochistic fury of
comets intent to massacre all. And
you ask me…to bow before you
to share this? No. I'd rather
go back to heaven.

------Matthew 4:1-11
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    and they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

"The Bush That Forever Burns #taylordatetony

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Moses, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #TaylorDateTony

+------The Bush That Forever Burns 

Taylor, singleness, I swear
is sandals frazzling in Midian, is casting
uninspired glances at past
rejection from girls as insipid
barely woolen sheep, (in a cynics
linen robe, wrapped turban), it
is wandering full of yearning,
sand specks o’ regret stinging eyes
of extrapolating, for romance. It’s
barrenness of Love at Mount Horeb’s
base.  But babes! Us as pure metonymy…
your blue eyes, lustrous hair a
bush glorious – burning wildly but not
consumed. Your soft lips like a
coaxing “Moses! Moses! [Tony! Tony!]”
Coffee with you at Starbucks’d be
sublime, like removing the sandals,
asking you your secret name.
If we kissed, courage to go back
to Egypt (my loneliness) a conqueror. 

------Exodus 3:1-14
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

The Oath

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* David, Samuel Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #IamDavid

+------The Oath; David's Offer To Fight Goliath 

Brothers, I am not scared.
My milieu prepped me for this,
for this exactly I have filed down
stone, sharpened rocks as spear tips.
Nightly, I address my sheep in the
sheepfold in soft tones, a battalion
in woolen armor: “do not run, stand
pat.” …Your shepherd will waylay the
lion, bear. "The ephemeral
stars often glitter then fade, but
this pledge is perpetual." So why
would I run from an insolent dog, a
Giant, a blight on humankind, a
filthy Philistine God-profaning?
My Shepherd, in turn, goes before me. 
…I willingly fight this Goliath, no fear.

------1 Samuel 17:26-33
David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.” When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”
“Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

For My People

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Esther, Holy Church pray for me
*  Dedicated to #IamEsther

+------ For My People; Esther's Plea To The King

When I was young,
nestled in my bed in solitude,
my fears thick like wool
of sheep, arms wrapped
about my knees bent,
staring into constellations
seeking consolation for my
Mom, Dad, deceased but still
soul whisperers…I begged
God for a family. And now,
at the ledge of the flat earth
of genocide, my life at risk for my kin.
But I know the dark-evils. I have lurked
in shadows of being alone, unwanted.
To the king, my husband...curse me
if you wish for imposing. But I beg,
save my people…or give me death.


------Esther 7:1-10
So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet, and as they were drinking wine on the second day, the king again asked, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.” Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.” King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is he? Where is he—the man who has dared to do such a thing?” Esther said, “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life. Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?” As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.” The king said, “Impale him on it!” So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king’s fury subsided.

The Raiders Devoured #TonyandKirk #HTTR

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* John, Mary, Holy Church pray for me
*  Dedicated to #TonyandKirk #KirkisElisha


+------The Raiders Devoured

Kirk, the running of Marshawn
Lynch, passes of Derek
Carr: connivance, the mob
-clatter infernal of charlatan
youths lurching onto main
roads to Bethel, Fed Ex Field.
Marshawn’s dance like epithets
spewed at Washington DC,
“Get out of here, baldy!” “Get out
of here, baldy!” …worthy
of divine recrimination. But your QB
intelligence like Raiders curses,
agility of Chris Thompson
imprecatory snark. It is the scent of
prey to fans, stirred out of dark foliage
of losing seasons like two bears
starved, ravenous. A Redskins
win tonight 42 pirate-punks mauled.  

------2 Kings 2:23-25
From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.

Ladder Of Opportunit

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Moses, Jacob Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #IamJacob

+------Ladder Of Opportunity; Jacob's Thoughts After Dreaming Of The Ladder 

It haunts me at night, my
fears. The stars transmuting,
fusing together to form a grand dragon
pale…the clouds, smoke fumes
discharged from his mouth’s
roaring. Red eyes glaring at
me like failure. In the distance, I hear
intensifying epithets of my father for
being deceived. I often wake
panting, sweat like streams fleeing
Eden recently lost. But this night, this land
is different, Angels as proselytes,
working fate, ascending and
descending a ladder of God in the sky
on my behalf. Like they want to
believe too…all of this isn’t chance.
Like my dream of a better life suddenly
calls; Heaven’s Gate unbarred, opening.
Bethel: city of my seed forever.

------Genesis 28:10-22
Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran.  When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

Taylor Swift - The Lamb Of Tony Conti's Dating Dreams #taylordatetony

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Matthew, John Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #TaylorDateTony

+------Taylor Swift - The Lamb Of Tony Conti's Dating Dreams 

And Taylor, this
is no way to live; Me overly hirsute.
Pungent. My heart unkempt, clad in
melancholy like camel’s hair…
singleness a leather belt to its waist
fastened. The only soul’s
food I have ever tasted-
locusts, wild honey, the paltry
bitterness of dating rejection-
wilderness verging on
briared wasteland. But babes!
in you all of Romance's expectation,
prophecy cohere- If you took me to
Starbucks, a tall silhouette gradually
unveiled by my joy like the sun. Pacing
to the Jordan River (of dreams)..with
beaming blonde hair, dashing blue eyes
of angel cadres. Your smile over coffee,
pure, Virgin Born. If you kissed me, Id
want to baptize you (in my love),
exclaiming “Behold! The Woman Of
My Dreams! [Behold The Lamb of God].”

------John 1:29-34; Matthew 3:4 
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”/ Now John himself wore clothing. made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

A Donkey's Angst #IamTheDonkey

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Moses, Aaron, Holy Church pray for me
* Dedicated to #IamTheDonkey

+------------A Donkey's Angst; The Thoughts Of  Balaam's Donkey Upon Seeing The Angel Of Death's Sword Drawn 

To what can a donkey aspire in Midian,
but to bear man’s burdens (sun-scorched),
devour dry grass, hay, straw… to
lie down without breath after few hapless
joy-scant years, a soulless beast’s dust-decay:
his afterlife, a feast for vultures; Bones
talon flung in four directions cardinal. And
to endure condescension of
human speech, beatings by fist,
whip, stick. To listen with envy at the lofty
perch of the human exalted in God’s
hierarchy. But still, I cannot allow myself
to watch you die. My prayer to the angel:
“if I save him, please remember me.”

-------------Numbers 22:21-38
Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials. But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road. Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again. Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left.  When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff. Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.” The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” “No,” he said. Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.  The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.” Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.” The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials. When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite town on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory. Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn’t you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?” “Well, I have come to you now,” Balaam replied. “But I can’t say whatever I please. I must speak only what God puts in my mouth.”

A Groom Resurrected

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* John, Mary, Holy Church pray for me
*  Dedicated to #TheBridegroom

+------A Groom Resurrected;The Words Of The Bridegroom To Jesus At The Wedding In Cana

And my heart has now known
Dionysus, its hopes murdered
by Titans of disappointment,
torn asunder; My death, my
bride bereft of wine. Last night
I pledged to her the stars
but now this odium: a listless
party dragging on. Yet my gratitude
for you, resurrection. Your words like
Promise’s resplendent rays
dispelling romantic crepuscular light, David
dancing before the Ark. With my
marriage perishing-behold the god of Wine!
Rather the God of Israel Soon United (drunk
with joy)…who…smiles at 6 stone water
jars and makes all things sweet again.

------John 2:9-10
and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not know where it was from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone serves the fine wine first, and then the cheap wine after the guests are drunk. But you have saved the fine wine until now!”

Jared Goff's Tower Of Babel #TonyandKirk #httr

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Moses, Holy Church pray for me
*  Dedicated to

+------ Jared Goff's Tower Of Babel

Kirk, in Los Angeles-
NFC collusion, 53 players as
a broad coalition of prideful
peoples sharing one Flat Earth…
plotting to arrogate Your glory for
themselves, a Rams win on
Sunday. Jared Goff, Todd Gurley,
Sean McVay concurring “let’s
make bricks and bake them
thoroughly.” Rushing touchdowns
bricks instead of stone, defensive
sacks as tar for mortar. A Redskins
loss like a city with a tower
piercing Heaven’s (Fed Ex Field’s)
veil. But your passes…their
linguistic confusion, balderdash. Rob
Kelley’s first downs their hopes scattered
north, west, east, south. After Josh
Norman’s INTs they will not build the city.
California: 2017’s Babel. Utter humility.

------Genesis 11:1-9
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel —because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

To Hell (Hades) And Back

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Peter, Paul, Holy Church pray for me
*  Dedicated to

+------ To Hell (Hades) And Back; Jesus' Thoughts As He Visited The Souls In Prison

My descent into chambers,
antechambers of Sheol,
garrisons of King Hades - ghosts
of men’s regrets that persist -
hands poised on their hilts,
part as I pass, snarls of
Cerberus…his neck hair stiff,
erect. Before his/Death’s throne I
do not petition abdication just
bequeathal of keys. So as to visit
damned souls shackled to each
other voiceless, oxidized metal of
remorse, in cages of hopelessness
behind iron bars. To swing open
the doors, to inmates declaring,
with my blood, my body crucified,
EXODUS. Fighting tears: “Raise your
eyes. Now, (my sons) you are free”

------Ephesians 4:7-10; 1 Peter 3:18-22
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says:
“When he ascended on high,
    he took many captives
    and gave gifts to his people.”
(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe; For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

Taylor Swift Raising Tony Conti's Heart From The Dead #taylordatetony

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* John, Disciples, Holy Church pray for me
*  Dedicated to #TaylorDateTony #IamLazarus

+------Taylor Swift Raising Tony Conti's Heart From The Dead
Taylor, your blue eyes-
a summons in Bethany from Sheol;
my heart a Hebrew man dead 4 days,
stench of other girls’ rejection. Regret,
disdain, like graveclothes tightly wrapped
about the body. A wounded soul
bundled for the River Styx. And singleness
is my cave, the entrance sealed with a
colossal stone (of seeming finality).
But babes, if you took me to
Starbucks…the dream of life
revisited. Your smile like stern
confidence commanding crowds of
romantic expectation gathered: “TAKE
AWAY THE STONE” [of Tony’s loneliness].
Our kiss, me walking – taking strips
of linen dejection, cloth of death
off my face. A miracle over coffee shared.

------John 11:38-44
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

Fishers Of Men

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Matthew, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #Jesus

+------Fishers Of Men; Jesus' Appeal To Peter And Andrew

The fish, they don’t
deserve this – contrariety.
To dance with deception
shrouded, birds of prey nestled
in dark moon-clouds philosophizing
on death from Mount Olympus; Fate’s
descent in a swoop. To sleep with
one eye open for furor of Leviathan,
resisting undertow of his wide mouth
capriciously agape. A ballad to Poseidon.
And then to deal with you- full of pablum,
frayed trawl with tangled rock. Fishing but
not. Adrift on a boat, but with souls
drowning in seas of a life unfulfilled.
Come, follow me – fish for men, a life
of intrigue, mystique, well-lived instead.

------Matthew 4:18-20
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

Home

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Jesus, Luke Mary, Joseph, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #YoungJesus

+------Home; Jesus' Response To His Mother When She Found Him In The Temple 

My soul thirsts always.
As if I was born not of this
world, but ripped from
the wisdom-breast of my nurse
celestial and hurled into denser,
opaque, lower vibrational realms.
Temporarily. Famished for Truth
of it all, existential angst my
swaddling clothes. And prayer
prophecies, exploring rudiments
of Moses like Ariadne’s thread:
escape from Minotaur-labyrinth
-ignorance. I need to be here...
this is the only place I can hear
my Father’s voice. (The closest
semblance of Home).

------Luke 2:41-52
Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

The Redskins Healed Of The 2016 Palsy #HTTR #TonyandKirk

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Mark, Disciples, Holy Church pray for me
*  Dedicated to #TonyandKirk

+------The Redskins Healed Of The 2016 Palsy"

Kirk, the NFL like Capernaum,
31 teams a mob- throngs of
Hebrews in a frenzied stir flirting with
delirium for the season's start, unhinging
the door. Embedded amidst it all,
the Redskins’ playoff hopes a man
diseased, sick of the palsy, bedridden
by 2016’s close losses, helpless
to reach Lombardi’s house. And
Skins fans are friends, climbing atop,
prying apart optimistic roof thatches
to lower him at your feet: our QB Savior.
NFC East coaches like scribes sneering,
gazes treacherous. So now is the time!
Stand strong, your passing touchdowns
like absolution for his sins, touch of King
Midas, your leadership a divine edict: “Arise,
….take up thy bed…..go thy way into
thine house [with a 2018 Superbowl trophy]"


------Mark 2:1-12
And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

The Texas Wedding Feast Of DJ Durkin #TonyandTestudo

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Jesus, Mary, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #TonyandTestudo

+------The Texas Wedding Feast Of DJ Durkin 

D.J. Durkin, before you, the passing
football years bland, the games like
tepid well water served at a wedding
without mystique (conversation of
fans reduced to crass cynic’s drivel),
drawn by servants with sullied hands.
The coaching and passion: six stone
jars…soulless, banal,
crusting, cracking. But now- your schemes,
recruiting, playbook like auspicious
Hebrew antiquity-prophecies fulfilled.
Your desire to win, a benevolent Virgin
chiding her Son (your players): “They
have no more wine [in College Park]”
Your win over Texas, the sweetest
Wine (your QBs’ play, the choicest vines).
All UMD students a Big-Ten-bridegroom
boasting: “but you have saved the best till now”

------John 2:1-11
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

The Earth Cracking Beneath The Coffee Of Taylor Swift And Tony Conti #taylordatetony

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Moses, Aaron, Holy Church pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #TaylorDateTony

+------The Earth Cracking Beneath The Coffee Of Taylor Swift And Tony Conti

Taylor, my love for you -
two mystic prophets, robes
of joy pressed, turbans of glee
wrapped snugly, staffs of fondness
– one particularly wondrous -
for you tightly clenched. Imploring
my singleness as dissidents,
Korah, Dathan and Abiram, to
subjugate themselves, conform
to my heart’s will. Their scoffing
hullabaloo, prating, all girls who
refused me romance: “where's the land
flowing with milk, honey? Would you
kill us here in [loneliness’s] wilderness?”
But babes, if you took me to Starbucks,
a face-off, pride like 252 censers with
incense standing at the Tent Of Meeting
of dating principle. Your smile’d be justice
shaking beneath the feet of all. If we
kissed – a colossal fissure of terrain, of
all Ive ever known, the rocks of my
lovelornness split asunder. The coffee
we share’d be earth swallowing households,
all those associated with Korah, together
with their possessions:  sadness perishing.

------Numbers 16:12-34
Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come! Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? And now you also want to lord it over us! Moreover, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you want to treat these men like slaves? No, we will not come!” Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them.” Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tomorrow—you and they and Aaron. Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it—250 censers in all—and present it before the Lord. You and Aaron are to present your censers also.” So each of them took his censer, put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting. When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the Lord appeared to the entire assembly. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.” But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, “O God, the God who gives breath to all living things, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to the assembly, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’” Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. He warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.” So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents. Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.” As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. They went down alive into the realm of the dead, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, “The earth is going to swallow us too!”

The Descent Of The Prophet

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Jeremiah pray for me
* Saints pray for me
*  Dedicated to #IamJeremiah

+--------The Descent Of The  Prophet; Jeremiah's Thoughts While Sinking In Malkijah's Cistern 

In my sleep, I hear faint noises.
I hear the plucking of arrow strings,
the deceit of horse-trots, pitter-patter
on grass, archers nervous, battling
angst-existential….of pillaging the
unsuspecting in the still of night.  
Then the din of war. The peals of
thunder of Babylonian battering ram
splitting Israel’s buttresses. I wake up
plaza-screaming “BABYLON IS COMING!!!!
(if you refuse repentance)” drenched
in sweat, my own blood. And for this (warning)-
forsaken to commune with death,
a slow cistern’s descent into stench of
mud, urine, animal carcasses. The curse
of God’s Prophets.  

------Jeremiah 38:1-13
Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehukal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when he said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague, but whoever goes over to the Babylonians will live. They will escape with their lives; they will live.’  And this is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be given into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’” Then the officials said to the king, “This man should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.” “He is in your hands,” King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothing to oppose you.” So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud. But Ebed-Melek, a Cushite, an official[d] in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate, Ebed-Melek went out of the palace and said to him, “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern, where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread in the city.” Then the king commanded Ebed-Melek the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”
So Ebed-Melek took the men with him and went to a room under the treasury in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and let them down with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. Ebed-Melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so, and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.

A Reassuring Idol; Aaron's Justification Of The Golden Calf To Moses

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Disciples, Holy Church pray for me
*  Dedicated to #IamAaron

+------A Reassuring Idol; Aaron's Justification Of The Golden Calf To Moses

In the tents stargazing,
I catch winds of canards varying:
that Pharaoh’s army survived
the Red Sea, that our women hear
rims of Egyptian charioteers
grinding atop rock, dirt, locusts…
frogs..dried blood of the first born.
Approaching. Our kids dream of
vultures, yellow-eyed, screeching
echoes from caverns in Hell. So I told them
“gold for fears”, that “we wont become
disillusioned.” Though journeying persists,
faith shouldn’t wane. That Osiris
(of our slavemasters) conquered the fires
of death in the Apis Bull…and we will
too. (With or without Yahweh).

------Exodus 32:15-24
Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.”
Moses replied:
“It is not the sound of victory,
    it is not the sound of defeat;
    it is the sound of singing that I hear.”
When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it. He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?” “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”

Supping Like The Last Time

* Spirit Of Jesus pray for me
* Jesus, Matthew, John, Luke, Holy Church pray for me
*  Dedicated to #TheLastSupper

+-----Supping Like The Last Time; Jesus' Thoughts At The Last Supper Seder

Raising the chalice, we
exchange salutations. Cheers
to a life well lived- flames dance together,
a candle cotillion – toasts to the living,
the dead. Persephone gleeful
rising dovelike from subterranean
crevices of earth to Mount Olympus’s
clouds. And the porter who
prepared the room said this
is a seedy part of Jerusalem;
to stay until dawn, to shun local alleys
for the ghosts that roam these passages. But
for now,  our parlance is wine, bread,
lamb and song...memorial. Tomorrow ushers
in what tomorrow ushers in. Now we have
food and each other, feet washed.
A forever bond. Beneath  moonlight

------Matthew 26:26-30
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the[a] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.