All Mormon temples have the inscription "Holiness To The Lord" somewhere on their exterior. This phrase is an allusion to Zechariah 14:20-21. "In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS TO THE LORD....Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts."
I thought of Wendy, who is quiet about a lot of things, writing a post about finding God in her barn, in the manure pile, in laughter, and I was reminded of this poem by the mystical poet Rumi, the Persian, the Sufi, also known as Mohammed Jalaluddin Rumi:
God's joy moves from unmarked box to unmarked box,
from cell to cell. As rainwater, down into flowerbeds.
As roses, up from ground.
Now it looks like a plate of rice and fish,
now a cliff covered with vines,
now a horse being saddled.
It hides within these,
till one day it cracks them apart.
.
12 comments:
What a wonderful poem. Thanks for sharing.
What a wonderful image to be cracked open with God's joy. :)
Thanks for the shout out!
God is everywher, huh...in each little crack and crevice.
Hello Joyce, A beautiful story and poem. Reminds me of the line in the song by Leonard Cohen who refers to the Bible often. "There is a crack in everything, that's how the line gets in." Beautiful.
I've heard of Rumi but never read anything by him yet. He's referred to often by Deepak Chopra or Wayne Dyer. Thanks for the indirect reminder! :)) Petra
I truly believe God is everywhere as in my favorite quote of Thomas
The gospel of Thomas: “Jesus said... the Kingdom of God is inside you, and all around you, not in mansions of wood and stone. Split a piece of wood... and I am there, lift a stone... and you will find me.”
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
--Leonard Cohen
I read a lot of Deepak Chopra, too. Makes good sense to me.
Also read Elaine Pagel's the Gnostic Gospels and her translation of the Book of Thomas. Early Christianity was interesting stuff!
Hello Joyce! I think we'd make a great duet! Yes, Leonard Cohen is such a beautiful songwriter. Have his "I'm Your Man DVD"; a tribute to him by younger musicians who sing his music and bits of interviews where he talks about becoming a monk, etc. And yes, Deepak is profound as well. This was such an inspiring post, Joyce. Thank you. Petra
p.s. Thank you for the tip on reading Elaine Pagel. I have such a reading wish list, you would't believe!
p.s. Thank you for the tip on reading Elaine Pagel. I have such a reading wish list, you would't believe!
I love the list of things being cracked open at the end of the poem - lovely indeed.
As always, Joyce -- a beautiful post. Thanks for pointing me to Wendy's post too. Loved it!
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