Beatitudes: Hungering and Thirsting

A deep-felt need presides
It grows, takes me over

And I have no
Hope
of ever sating it, quenching it

For I am poor, and sad, and humbled

Jesus - your righteousness
is all that can
satisfy

Beatitudes: Meekness

Meekness steps aside and waits
He opens doors, he clears the plates
He tips the waitress extra when
She forgot him when her mom dropped in.

He helps his neighbor fix his car
And taught his boy to play guitar
And stayed up all night praying for
The homeless guy outside the bar.

Meekness forfeits all his dues,
For Jesus did so first.
Meekness walks in Jesus' shoes,
Inheriting the earth.

Beatitudes: Mourning

Guilt slinks, cowers from
Blows that don't ever come.
But Mournings come, and guilt transforms;
Weeping, I am newly born -
Born again in righteousness,
yet still I sin, and still transgress
by leaps and bounds the holy law.
I hate my sin: the fatal flaw
I share with all humanity.
My weeping swells - why can't I flee
When given opportunity?

So here I weep, my Jesus comes
And wipes my tears, and takes me home.

Beatitudes: Poverty

A preface: in the Bible study I lead, we're going through the Sermon on the Mount, that seminal teaching of Jesus at the beginning of his ministry in Matthew 5-7. Sort of to commemorate the occasion, I thought I'd return to the poetry series I began several years ago themed around the Beatitudes. I think I made it almost through "hunger and thirst for righteousness," but didn't quite finish it. I'll try to plug through this time and get them all done. And maybe continue on through the rest of the sermon, who knows?

Anyway, without further ado,

Poverty

How am I poor?
Do not make me count the ways
Mercy, at your door
This beggar pleads his helpless case.

Choked on my sin,
From trying hard to gorge myself with its
Empty deceit,
And greed, and lust, and lies, and laziness.

I spew it up
And ask for sweet exchange
A holy cup
Of Jesus' blood arranged.