Tag: poetry

Dandelions

~ Jason Kanz ~ Leave a comment

In the spring of the year
they rise from their slumber,
slender stalks supporting
saffron heads,
their bright composure
punctuating the cool green;
yet they are transient.

Bright blonde giving way to
tousled gray
until a breeze blows upon it
and it’s gone.

But God is a forget-me-not.
His steadfast love never ceases,
though He plucks and blows
upon the flower,
He spreads the seeds
upon the wind…
His breath carries life abundant
where many see death.

 

A reflection on Psalm 103 from my book Soil of the Divine.

Seeds Descend

~ Jason Kanz ~ Leave a comment

Seeds descend
into darkness
lives extinguished
in the cool earth.

From death, life emerges
pressing through the soil
to reach the Light
always stretching, reaching
toward life’s Source
new life superseding old.

Why do we fear the darkness?

Bold Love

~ Jason Kanz ~ Leave a comment

O Sovereign Protector,

The world is full of dangers, which threaten at every turn.
The complex effects of the fall invade every facet of our existence.
We witness breakdown every day,
of physical health
of relationships
of the church itself.
And still, LORD, you are unwavering and whole.

Grant me courage for the day ahead
to live so fully in the security of your love for me
that I can say what must be said
and do what must be done.
I am often overrun by fears,
but you say, O LORD, that the righteous
are bold as a lion.
May I be ruled, not by anxieties,
but by love.

Let it be.

Radiate

~ Jason Kanz ~ Leave a comment

Indwelling Spirit,

I am aware of so many sinful tendencies within myself,
self centeredness,
lusts of the flesh,
chasing distractions.
They crowd out the God-life.
I end up pursuing ten-thousand things that do not glorify you.
I live for self and fail to love.
Life becomes about satisfying my passions
and fulfilling my comforts.

So overwhelm me with your Holy Spirit
that I am left with no option
but to radiate peace, goodness and beauty.

Shards

~ Jason Kanz ~ Leave a comment

Divine Restorer,
I can offer nothing to you
except my disintegrated self.
The worries of the world,
temptations and lusts,
broken relationships,
physical imperfections,
continually batter my soul–

fragmenting, fragmenting–

shards
useless on their own,
yet you, O LORD, are able
to make broken things whole,
to infuse my sinews with grace,
and my bones with steadfast love.

Re-created not just whole
but holy.

The Key

~ Jason Kanz ~ Leave a comment

In the shadows I sit
imprisoned in fear,
alone and afraid
year after year.

I wonder alone
will darkness lift?
constant companion
suffering’s “gift.”

I see Jesus coming
carrying a key,
I think to myself
he’ll set me free.

He opens the door
and enters the space,
he sits down with me
tears stain his face.

I ask, “are we leaving?”
He says, “no, not yet.
Your pain continues,
but child, don’t fret.”

He gazes at me
with love in his eyes,
“I’ll be with you
until darkness dies.”

Do Pharisees know they are Pharisees?

~ Jason Kanz ~ Leave a comment

Do Pharisees know they are Pharisees? Do I?
A commitment to God
…at least their conception of Him.
A passion for the Word
…at least their understanding of it.
A deeply held belief in right and wrong
…their rightness
…and another’s error.

Operating from a place
of protectionism and control,
not compassion and love.
Strongly insisting upon “God’s way”
not realizing that it is actually
their way they promote.

Loveless, graceless, Spiritless…
exchanging control for love,
speaking for listening,
rules for wisdom,
self-righteousness for humility,
religion for Jesus.

Pharisees are not dead,
they merely wear a different cloak.

 

I Am Free

~ Jason Kanz ~ Leave a comment

I keep coming back to the questions, “What is freedom?” and “Do I live free?”

I am free.

I am free to tell people how much I value them.
I am free to speak out against injustice.
I am free to give lavishly.
I am free to err on the side of grace.
I am free from needing to demand my rights

or simply from the need to be right.

I am free to serve.
I am free from the need to identify ways in which I am better than others.

Or worse.

I am free from the pressure to perform.
I am free to be goofy.
I am free to like musicals more than football

or painting more than hunting.

I am free to rest.
I am free to take off my mask.
I am free to read from The Message.
I am free to sing at the top of my lungs in the shower

even Air Supply.

I am free to cross the party line.
I am free to drink a cup of coffee

or five.

I am free to not know something.
I am free to be curious and creative

even childlike.

I am free to be emotional

and logical.

I am free to call it like I see it.
I am free to disagree.
I am free to cry at TV shows

even “Anne with an E.”

I am free to color outside the lines.
I am free to hold hands with my kids.
I am free to say no.
I am free to do what I want to do.

I am free. 

Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.-Galatians 5:1, The Message

A Place of Gathering

~ Jason Kanz ~ Leave a comment

Christ’s table is a place of gathering
a place where the broken find restoration
the lonely find communion
the empty find fulfillment
and sinners find grace.

Have we forgotten this?
Have we forgotten that Jesus
ate his last meal with
Thomas the doubter?
Peter the denier?
Judas the betrayer?

Not just that he ate with them,
but that he longed to eat with them?

By his words and actions
he communicated
“You belong.”

Do we?