About More Than Just the Springtime

It is true the springtime flowers
have blossomed forth, forsythia first,
daffodils, followed by the Bradford Pear.
Then the Dogwood. The azaleas—
various kinds, colors—slowly stagger
their release of blossom over several weeks.
And now lilies of the valley—
perfect, lacy hanging bells—grow
on the north side of the house.

It is true that tiny violets covered
much of the yard before our John Deere
tractor moved them away and that two tender-
hearted children rescued a sick, baby bird.
They put it in a cage, unaware
that it might give them lice. Or worse yet,
West Nile Virus. But this concerns more
than just the springtime. Much more than
the flowers. More even than the baby bird,

‘though I picture him still.
This is to inform readers that in August
Shane and his buddies are going to be
jet-planed to Iraq. The President’s veto kept
the bill—that could have kept them safe—
from becoming the law. This is about
the blood that flows through soldiers’ human
veins, the senseless violence they endure,
and the prayer I have begun praying.

The Power of the Spirit by Henri Nouwen

In and through Jesus we come to know God as a powerless God, who becomes dependent on us. But it is precisely in this powerlessness that God’s power reveals itself. This is not the power that controls, dictates, and commands. It is the power that heals, reconciles, and unites. It is the power of the Spirit. When Jesus appeared people wanted to be close to him and touch him because “power came out of him” (Luke 6:19).

It is this power of the divine Spirit that Jesus wants to give us. The Spirit indeed empowers us and allows us to be healing presences. When we are filled with that Spirit, we cannot be other than healers.