Are You Jesus?

Allow me to share a word about the title - 'Are You Jesus?', and other poems, prayers and ponderings. I wrote the signature poem for this edition while on silent retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist Kentucky. After hearing a retreat talk from Father Carlos, the Guestmaster at the Abbey, I began reflecting on the various ways we experience the presence of Jesus in our day-to-day lives. Father Carlos referenced Jesus' response to Philip in John's Gospel during the "Farewell Discourse" (John 14:8-11). To his request to see the Father, Jesus replied that to see the Son was to see the Father. Having seen Jesus, Philip and the disciples had seen the Father. Granted, I had read this text countless times before. Still, when Father Carlos invited us to consider how, similarly, Jesus was to be seen in us, this simple truth felt amazingly fresh somehow to me. Immediately after returning to my dorm room at the Abbey I sat down and wrote the little poem, "Are You Jesus?" And as I pondered the title for this collection of writings, I kept coming back to the little poem inspired by Father Carlos at the Abbey. For me, this poem attempts to speak to what lies at the core of my understanding of authentic Christian faith. I believe God reaches out to us through us. I cannot speak of my faith apart from my experience of God through others. The language I use to speak of holy things has come to me by human agency. I owe my approach to biblical interpretation and faith to the many teachers and Christian practitioners who have shaped and challenged my thinking through the years. From seminary professors and classmates to clergy colleagues, parishioners and children, authors and spiritual guides, my deepening respect and love for the Holy Scriptures, along with my desire to be a self-denying, cross-carrying, Jesus-follower has been aided by a substantial cloud of witnesses. I cannot begin to speak of my faith journey apart from the impact that others have made on my life. Mine is a very incarnational theology. I believe the Word continues to be enfleshed in us. The book you hold in your hand represents my attempt to speak an authentic word that is both faithful to the Gospel and the human condition. We are fellow travelers in the journey of life, all created in the image of God and of sacred worth. I've tried to fashion these writings with both God and my fellow pilgrims in mind. Please know it is a gift to me that you are taking the time to give these pages some consideration. As amateur poet, ordained minister and 24/7 human being, I've made peace with my many imperfections. Which, maybe, by the grace of God allows me to write with some credibility to the human condition. These poems are by no means the fruit of a master poet. They are, however, the unmistakable byproduct of a lover of words who, having been blessed by God and countless other human beings, cannot deny a hunger to speak to other imperfect human beings, doing the best they can to make it through the day.