For campus ministers, thanks be to God

I did a gig on Maundy Thursday evening with Agape House - a Protestant campus ministry at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

Interestingly enough, I had once done a field education placement that was based at Agape House. I worked with the Rev. Gene Powell at what was then called Loop Community College - now Harold Washington Community College.

Memories flooded back. As they roil in my heart and soul, I give thanks for those campus ministers who helped to shape me:

The Rev. Judson McConnell
The Rev. Dave McGown
The Rev. Gene Powell

And I give thanks for those who presently engage in campus ministry - Kurt, Catherine, Jan, John, Jon - and those I forget - and those I do not know.

Thank you for your important work.

Get home safe

It happens almost every night.

I shut off the computer,
turn out the light,
and leave the office.

I walk down the hall to the elevator
and push the call button.

When the cab arrives, I push "1" and head downstairs.

Hector is always there to see me out.

Sometimes we talk about weather or family.
Often we talk sports.
[Conversations got interesting when
my Steelers beat his Jets.]

Then I head for the door,
and I hear Hector's final words:
always the same
always in the same, kind voice:

"Good night, Marko.
Get home safe."

Get home safe.

We live in a world where so many have not a home but
a tent in a refugee camp
a blanket in the back of a car
a cot in a shelter
a mattress in a brothel
a root of a tree
a spot on a subway grate;

a world where so many homes endure unsafe situations:
domestic violence
sex trafficking
war
exploitation
persecution
occupation

In such a world, Hector's words come as
a blessing
a benediction
a prayer that the day may soon dawn . . .
and a challenge that we work for that day . . .
when
every one has a home
every home is safe
and we all travel there safely.

Get home safe.

May it be so.

Did Micah know?

Micah, did you know -

in order to
love kindness,
do justice,
walk humbly with God,

we have to
face evil unspeakable,
confront horror unfathomable,
carry pain unbearable?

Only

Only by confronting the evil,
however monstrous,
however banal;

only by facing the horror,
however terrifying,
however agonizing;

only by feeling the pain,
however shallow,
however deep;

only by remembering the act,
however shocking,
however shameful;

only by acknowledging the loss,
however great,
however small;

only then
can grace break through.

Forgiveness: A Time to Love and a Time to Hate

Toy Story 3

As rain drenches the Shire on the Hudson,

Memories of Sean and Eric

wash my spirit

flood my mind

fill my heart.

Sorrow, joy, and pride mix together.

Egret

On slender legs,
too slender it almost seems
to support her weight,
she walks.

As sunlight shafts
fail to pierce morning greyness,
she walks.

Through water
among reeds
she walks.

She pauses,
dips to catch a fish.
Breakfast finished,
she walks.

Gracefully striding,
carefully picking her way
among slime-covered tires
that choke the bank,
she walks.

April 16, 2010
Train 7221
New Jersey Transit
North Jersey Coast Line

Getting ready to start again

It's been a while. It's been too long - too long since I have done any writing - too long since I have eaten well - too long since I have walked - too long since I have been to the gym.

That should change. Sometime soon, that should change.

To be continued . . .