“The Scapegoat” by Greg Oosterhouse
There once was a man who lived an upright life. He loved His fellow man, He was slow to anger. He put Himself last, and never was one to cause strife. His life was lived humbly, He even was born in a manger.
SOURCE: Poem Hunter
Two Monks and Silence — Unknown
Two monks, walked together during a long journey home. After hours of wandering in silence the younger monk finally spoke. “Master”, he said, “I have been practicing silence as you’ve taught me…
The Master Carpet Weaver — inspired by Corrie ten Boom’s poem “Life is but a Weaving”
There was a a master carpet weaver so gifted that people would come from all over the world to buy his hand stitched, stunningly beautiful carpets.
For about a year his six-year-old granddaughter, who often pestered him to let her weave a carpet with him finally proclaimed, “I know how to do this!”
"The River" (excerpt) by Herman Hesse
I am only a ferryman and it is my task to take people across this river. I have taken thousands of people across and to all of them my river has been nothing but a hindrance on their journey. They have travelled for money and business, to weddings and on pilgrimages; the river has been in their way and the ferryman was there to take them quickly across the obstacle.
“Kindness” by Naomi Shihab Nye
Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
PLEASE SUPPORT MS. NYE’S WONDERFUL WORK
Maurice Frydman Poem (Title Unknown)
I am at the end of the tether
and can’t break the cord
All my going ahead
is a deceitful dream,
All my thinking not true,
all my feeling not pure,
Love (III) - by George Herbert
Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
If I lacked anything.
The Adventurer by Anthony de Mello
The story goes that in a small village lived an adventurer who grew restless within its confines and longed to explore the wider world. He eventually embarked on a long journey, venturing into uncharted territories and experiencing things no one in the village ever had. Years passed, and the villagers, assuming he was dead, were surprised when he eventually returned.
“The Mystic, the Evangelical and the Fundamentalist” - Author Unknown
There is an old anecdote in which a mystic, an evangelical pastor and a fundamentalist preacher die on the same day and awake to find themselves by the pearly gates. Upon reaching the gates they are promptly greeted by Peter, who informs them that before entering heaven they must be interviewed by Jesus concerning the state of their doctrine. The first to be called forward…
SOURCE: ‘How (Not) To Speak of God by Peter Rollins (Paraclete Press, 2006), page 21