The beauty of your humbleness: The beauty of your humbleness is always refreshing. I often ponder was faith easier or harder back then, and in its infancy, was salvation an easy road, passionate road? are we more passionate now vs then, or more enlightened? What it it that stirred the apostles to such complete faith? Yet some stillbetrayed it... and yet with out that betrayal who could be saved? Hard rules to live by easy rules to break such a conundrum either way, I believe faith is the same from then to now and if it is the only salvation offered then why shouldn't we take it? No guns to our heads just an offer of trust... do much to gain but what do we lose? I loved this because it .makes me question deeper. Hugss and blessings of health and wellness in body and soul.
Thank you very much for your: Thank you very much for your comment, and for your kind words about the poem. Since I was a teen, I have wanted to be able to get back to the earliest basics of the Faith---and that means Galilee. And one can derive from the four Gospels' many quotations of the Psalms that the Psalmody was very important both to Jesus and to His followers; and that is what, at this late stage of my earthly life, I need more of in my life. One of the blessings of this affliction is that, confined to the armchair as I am, but with the laptop in front of me, I can explore these aspects of Christian History more devotedly than I did in school, when I was far too immature to appreciate what I would have found.
Sorry for my verbose reply. Thank you for your comment, and for your concern about my situation. I ask your prayers; and I assure you of mine.
Without a shred of: Without a shred of pretentious posturing and with a pure, open heart, you look to the simple roots of Christianity and seek that brand of authentic worship. In this world, such an untarnished connection to the Creator is a rare gift, but not impossible.
Although I'm very worried about you, being human after all, I am inspired by your example and revitalized by your unwavering faith.
Always your friend in poetry and prayer. God bless.
This poem demonstrates what I: This poem demonstrates what I have admired about your artistic skill for years: the conversational tone, the sturdy grounding in absolute reality, and the emotional poignancy which strikes a perfect proportion---neither too much ("gushy") or too little ("oblique"). Your consistent delivery of poetic quality makes you one of the pillars of this site.
A comment from you, sir, is: A comment from you, sir, is always a welcome event, so I am grateful that you visited and read the poem. But, beyond that, I am grateful, also, for your theologically shrewd reading of the poem. In comments I have read from you over months, and perhaps years, I have come to believe that you are one of the most theologically well informed people with whom I have ever been privileged to communicate. Yes, the false interrogator is both the accuser of the brethren and his local representative who happens to remind me of my spiritual flaws from time to time.
Again, thank you for the tremendous kindness of your visit and your written comment.
What stands out at this: What stands out at this particular reading is the fresh and apt nomenclature: "false interrogator" which to me is a contemporary summation of that which comes as an angel of light but truly is the accuser of the brethren.
This is an exquisitely: This is an exquisitely beautiful poem of love, longing and desire, and it is one that deserves to be read repeatedly. Your coy pen name brought me to your poems on this site, but your verbal elegance and emotional candor have made this poem a real reading experience, and I will be back to visit it more than once.