Category: Other Poetry

May I be like a laden olive tree
Weighed down with virtue as that tree with fruit.
A weight of glory makes me here sin-free
When I am grafted onto Jesus’ root–

A vine that ever grows in heaven’s soil
And breathes out heaven’s air to all the earth
To sanctify our East of Eden toil
And bring us all with earth to our new birth.

From glory into glory we will grow
As love and peace and joy enlarge our hearts,
And from His Cross we eat His fruit and know
That He gives each of us a brand-new start.

May I be ever laden with His love,
His fruit that comes from Jesus raised above.

The Wind of Spirit blows through Eden’s East
That brings to us an early spring-time smell
With promise that this Wind will never cease
And for us all the earth will be made well. 

The Wind is strong enough to roll away
A rock sealed over tomb in Garden’s morn,
Unwraps grave clothes of Him who is the Way
To life anew where sin and death are shorn.

The Wind that blows has flowers fragrance sweet—
Is perfume from a Lily and a Rose—
Who kiss the world from new life’s mercy seat
With love and truth to banish all our woes.

We breathe this Wind that brings new life to earth
And celebrate what Jesus does for us,
As all creation revels in new birth
And flora, fauna will through us Him trust.

O Jesus, we together praise Your name,
With Father who permitted You to come,
As Spirit teaches why to world You came,
And who we really are we now become. 

He comes on chariot of clouds,
Descends to rescue fallen earth.
We hear a voice not shrill and loud,
But Baby sounds at His new birth—

For He’s New Adam born to save
Through us His world in Adam fell,
And with His death He will us raise—
Breaks hold on us of Satan’s spell.

His Body’s raised from empty tomb
With promise He’ll transform us all
As we’re raised up from Adam’s doom
With Body that’s beyond our fall.

New persons now we each become—
With glory readies each of us;
We taste within what we’ve become—
For new world raised from earthly dust.

With springs He’ll water with His life
His new creation comes to be—
A world made free of sinful strife,
And only goodness now we see.

The Devil seeks to burn Him up
      In fire of hell below
Where we are cast when we drink cup
     Of sin and death we know.

But He has never sinned with us
     When one of us became,
So Devil can’t bind Him in truss
     Of death—He overcomes.

The Devil howls when He breaks free–
     With sword of cross He smites–
And unlocks door we plainly see;
     God’s Son has won the fight

Now we’re set free to open door,
     Step through and leave our sin,
For death can’t live in spirits poor;
     We can begin again.

The air beyond His empty tomb
     From heaven we now breathe.
His grave becomes our earthly womb;
     In new life we’re conceived.

No death or sin on other side
     Of cross and empty grave,
So we can now in life abide,
     For Jesus all us saves.

The Sonshine’s rays break through the water poured
To cleanse from Adam’s sin and make hearts whole;
The pieces knit together with His sword
Make One for Him our body and our soul.

His spring, the source of living water, flows
To irrigate our dry and thirsty land
That all born in these eastern lands will know
Salvation through creator’s loving hand.

His hand is Son who dies upon the cross—
Becomes our own when we surrender life
And all our sinful dreams at last are lost
As who we really are steps into Light.

The mantle of His Sonshine’s cloak we wear
As He lifts from us all our earthly cares.

I’m home where I have never been,
A place that’s always pulled my heart,
A tug I’d never felt ‘til then
And know I have a brand new start—

The culmination of a day
Like none I’ve ever seen before;
To Him who is the Truth and Way
At last I’ve opened wide my door.

However long my life will last,
In this world I will be prepared
In Church where He will hold me fast
To save me from the Devil’s snare.

So as I journey in this life
With family who’re to me so dear,
From darkness I’ll walk into light
As He aside casts all my fear.

What is this fruit that I now eat?
     It looks like bread and wine,
Yet I know it’s God’s Son who greets
     Me in this heart of mine.

I eat His Body, drink His Blood;
     He enters, makes me new,
And I emerge from Satan’s flood,
     In world His truth to view.

Apparent weakness in His death
     Concealed His Father’s strength;
It’s manifest in Spirit’s breath–
     For us goes any length.

He dies to rise and give us life
     Beyond our human grave.
His Blood and Body bring His light
     To His creation save.

For here and now we live again
     And leave our past behind;
We’re free from death caused by our sin
     As new life here we find.

And with new life His wisdom comes
     To greatest and to least;
For wise in Him we all become
     When we eat Gospel Feast. 

Our weakness opens us to strength
That only Jesus can provide,
As He for us goes any length
To give new life for which He died.

His death gives us His life anew
When Resurrection enters us;
Through weakness we His strength can view
In every heart who in Him trusts.

His mercy comes through every thorn
That aggravates our mortal flesh,
For through it we can be re-born
As He with us His life will mesh.

In that new life we future taste
As we are drawn outside ourselves;
Our suffering He won’t let be waste
For through it comes His heaven’s health. 

See Jesus take Elijah’s cloak
And for us Jordan’s waters part
As He by John with water soaked
And He to us Himself imparts.

Dry shod we can through life now walk,
For mud of sin no longer clings;
With Father’s voice He to us talks
As angels of His glory sing.

And if we step aside and sin,
His water will continue cleanse
As pure He washes us again
With Spirit in His water sends.

When we arise from earthly fount
With Jordan’s waters left behind,
We’ll find ourselves on heaven’s mount—
At Jesus’ table we will dine.

The nail-scared hands of his adopted Son
Were calloused from the world of work and sweat
Where He had learned to be His Father’s man
In wondrous world where love and work had met.

And now where He is raised at Father’s side
He welcomes Joseph–taught Him how to be
A human man who for His family dies
And lives with Him to set all families free.

From Joseph’s labors we see now his fruit
That’s grown for us upon new Tree of Life–
Becomes for us a new life-giving root
That brings to Garden’s darkness His dawn’s light.

Within His human nature Joseph see
As with Him new creation comes to be. 

IN HONOR OF ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER’S DAY