And the Spirit Hovered

In the beginning, 

Before the very concept of a day existed,

The Lord of Hosts insisted there be light,

And heavens and earth 

And all we can grasp and glimpse with sight-

But there was a moment right before, 

When all was formless and void

Before his power was employed 

to speak all life into being.

There was the Artist, the King, the Majestic One

The Spirit we call friend was hovering over water

Before even time began

Before celestial clocks were set into motion

The full portion and measure of Him, 

Our Counsellor, hovered.

Before the word of God was recorded,

Before the notes of songs of praise reported-

He hovered.

In anticipation for the story to be written,

Before He breathed life into the image-bearers that caught Him smitten-

He hovered.

Fast forward to the evening cool,

When his beloved neglected His only rule,

And the hid away and hoped the light of day would fade

And keep at bay their shame.

In their meeting place He waited,

Knowing the paradise He created

Would come to ruin as the reign

Of the fallen human manifest itself.

Gently, He called to the two who abandoned His rest

"Where are you?"

Hovering near their hiding place,

Knowing their betrayal wouldn't let them see His face.

The story continued East of Eden

Where the God who was rejected

Mourned for the first of His people dead

Blood crying revenge,

While he formed a better word,

One that would at last make amends

For the wrongs of His people.

As the earth was made water and rain

He hovered in grief and longing all the same

Knowing their suffering would end 

When he placed their blame on His son.

And so He was there,

Hovering,

Calling out to heal the falling out

Between God and man,

Still patiently guiding them into His new plan.

A story of redemption,

For now found in sanctification by blood,

To do anything to reconcile them to love.

Fire and cloud led a people on the run

To a mountain where his glory dwelled

And his love still swelled

Even in the rebellion of his bride

The once beautiful one,

Covered in pride and shame,

Forgetful of his name that had always been revealed.

Until at last his plan to heal was born,

A helpless child containing the wild King-

And over a manger he smiled, still hovering-

Over a thirty year old completely sold on the Plan,

He hovered as a dove 

And rested as the Savior fixed his gaze above,

With such deep love for His father

That his life cry became, "Thy will be done,"

His reason why was our adoption as sons.

Only once did the Spirit not hover

Over our Bridegroom and our Lover-

His plan was reaching fullness,

The story of redemption nearing its climax

"Eli, Eli, lema sebachthani!"

Oh why have you forsaken me?

The Spirit left His side for a moment,

As the curse of all sin gripped Jesus in its torment

And then...

Adam's redemption as, one more,

The breath of God brought to life His son.

So once more, the story continued,

To clothe in power those He had rescued.

Here He hovers in an upper room,

Here light of life coats where darkness once loomed

Here He hovers as we cry in desperation,

Groaning in intercession

To form words we cannot utter.

He leads us to still, soft waters,

To bring rest to our pilgrim hearts 

So we might have peace,

In the midst of a world torn apart.

He leads us,

To and from where no one knows,

That we are carried wherever He goes.

As the Holy Wind blows

And covers us in righteousness,

He always, relentlessly hovers,

With a stillness that releases us from fear

And always, always invites us near.

A final chapter is being written,

The final Act of love by the Smitten God,

When the Savior will return 

And we will learn to gaze in His eyes

At long last,

And sorrow will be a thing of the past;

He will wipe away every tear from our eyes,

And the blemish left from all these lies

And we will walk hand in hand 

in a newly created land.

Until then, He hovers and whispers

To those who would listen,

His fiery eyes glistening

As He dances and covers us with feathers,

Singing melodies until we are at last together,

United at the end of the Story,

Ever after spent gazing on His Glory.

A Call for Justice

When will we say yes?
He said follow me and we nodded with planted feet
Caught up in world fed ways
Happy to let our words breathe praise
While passivity dresses us up in fine church clothes

But we're loathe to join the holy one who looks like fire
As he fights away in the muck and mire
His holy hands dirty, sleeves rolled
Not so concerned with the appearance of purity
That he wouldn't sit with sinners
Or let his free time be spent eating dinner
With the ones we'd have nothing to do with
We act all holy like the call to lay down our lives
Is a myth
For another era, another time,
And apathy isn't a crime but the norm
To conform to the lies that keep beggars in bondage
The American Dream is our adage
But we are just as trapped as the slaves we choose to ignore
We're latched to the idea that someone else will fight for the war
And that knowledge without action is raising awareness
When actually it's harmful indifference
Passivity masked as,
"It's not my calling."

Don't you know people are falling and dying?
And you submit to lies that let you live for yourself
While broken souls suffer
Crying to a God they don't believe in
Because if God was real, wouldn't He be moving?

The enemy is our indifference
And God isn't the one sitting on the fence
Of what's good and what's sin
The weapon he created to fight with
The army
Is still sitting in a valley
Ignoring the rallying call of the Spirit
They sit and argue about trivial things
Like how to play dress up with the church
Or how to make our perch further
From the messiness of the earth
Basking in the millions of dollars
Spent to outfit empty buildings
That find their use in self-centric talks
About looking the look, not walking the walk

In passivity we hide our eyes
To avoid looking at those who barely survive
Because we'd rather dress nice than sacrifice
To care for the ones the world has scorned

We would rather be adorned in what wealth and programs provide
Than the righteousness that only comes
From joining our savior as he dives
Into our mess as humans born in the broken
To let life be spoken to the deathly places
Until all that remains is unshakeable grace and love

"I don't delight in sacrifice,
Would you give up your life
To the cry of Justice
Until the Spirit's cry for freedom
Encompasses your vision."

Stop wasting hours of fruitless labor
At an altar to earn salvation by your strength that falters
The widows are suffering, orphans hungering and asking,
"Where is my hope?"

You use religion to cope with your maddened mind
While the orphans wait for a hand to be kind
And you hide behind ritual to satisfy obligation
Rather than recognizing the perpetual cry
Of the one who formed you for such a purpose-
To break free from surface level worship
And become the answer he seeks
As he cries, "Who shall I send? Who will set the captives free?"

When we look with eyes of true religion
He gives us vision to see
That those with dirty hands are living in the land of God
And as the suffering is broken by sacrificial love
The rough handed, diligent workers
Glow like stars in the night
Because they've worshipped rightly before the Lord
And let him make them into his sword-
A weapon to pierce the heart of darkness
And be the burning answer to the cry for freedom

Will we leave them to suffer
Or let love for another move us past our petty religion?
Let conviction and mercy clothe you
That you might be counted worthy of the call to follow
Even to death, to sorrow.

Tomorrow he comes, in glory and fire;
Will we choose passivity or blazing desire for him?
Do not give up, do not give in,
Do not give anything less than your all
Do not hide from the edge-
Brace for the fall.
In your surrender, he will give you wings like eagles

For what has the Lord required of you?

Do justice

Love mercy

& 

Walk humbly with your God.