My good friend Jake moved to Seatle today and I thought I would share with you many of the things I love about this guy. So here is poem I wrote for and about Jake for his 30th birthday this past year! I and (we) will miss you and Alison very much!
How can I recollect and reflect
or put into a dialect
a man… who ferociously follows his Father
a man… who sacrificially serves the Son
a man… who selflessly submits to the Spirit
with unbridled passion
and complete and utter abandon?
Jake, a confidante, comrade, companion
a journeyman, and fellow traveler
walking ahead, behind and beside
a shrewd sage, vociferously calling,
to us and them
to travel
“further up and further in”
no matter where you stand
urging you
upward and onward
to the love of the Lover
to the tenacity of the Truth
to the whisper of the Wind
to the glory of the Other One
and ALL the others
always becoming invisible
so the One who is unseen
can be seen
which is not he or me
but Him
Jake, one who limps
insistently sparring with I AM
plumbing the depths
of the living breathing text
beholding that sword
that has cut his heart and bone
wielding the weapon that has wounded him
knowing the hurt holds healing,
he unleashes its gentle fury
soothing and singeing us
wooing and bending us
carefully crafting communication
like a surgeon with a scalpel in hand
Like a scalpel in the hand of the Surgeon
He speaks
And then…
HE speaks
Jake, a man after God’s own heart
constantly considering and contemplating
the cosmos and its Creator
questions, queries, and quandaries
pealing back the surfaces
plumbing the depths of wonder and logic
yet these are not mere abstractions
studied in labs with microscopes
they are…
never mere constructions and conceptions
they are…
always communal relational connections
to the Lord of the Starfields
and how the stars fall to earth
shining light and glory in our dearth
clarifying confusion
illuminating illusions
restoring
hope
Jake, no sheltered pious monk
Isolated in ivory towers
He repels them
dispels them and even rebels
against them.
Imbibing beverages brewed and distilled
with the flavors of the ages.
A coinsure of scotch, vodka and vino
And oh the Belgium beer…
the Leffe Brown going down
and down and down
and
“oh yes I’ll have another”
oh so smooth…
Cigars, books and blogs,
justice, politics, rhetoric
protestant and Catholic
mountain biking and hiking…….
he also strokes the keys for those
who can’t
dreaming dreams of different strokes
for those folks
Rolling balls of techno-imagination
All for the release of redemption
It is with
Thanks, gratitude and admiration
Privilege, honor and delight,
that clutter my minds sight
As I recollect and collect
The memories of…
Jake, my brother
Jake, you are… and have been…
and will continue to be…
a reflector of his Image
a son of our Father
an ambassador of the King
and lover of the Love.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Alyssa and I were talking today, Jake, we will truely miss you. You and Allison filled and important role at the Open Door. Your encouragement has meant a lot. Your teaching has us all to deeper realationships with with God our Father.
Wow. Cool poem. Yes, he will be sorely missed.
Post a Comment