Sunday, April 28, 2019

In Memory of Mary Leak

In Loving Memory of
Mary "the Hugger" Leak
1933-2019


A PLACE PREPARED
For Mary Leak, 1933-2019
In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would
have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where
I am, there you may be also." John 14: 2-3 NKJV

You dwell now in a place prepared, by God with you in mind;
a place of exquisite beauty, pastoral and sublime,
a place no earthly eye has seen, no ear has heard about…
Beyond our wildest imaginings…Of this, there is no doubt.

God has given glimpses of our home in Eternity;
The Bible says the streets are gold. There is a crystal sea.
It speaks of emerald rainbows and it speaks of no more tears.
We are told there is no darkness, no trouble, pain or fears.

Trees are laden with luscious fruit, high walls of jasper gleam,
wide open gates of giant pearls…It's true! It's not a dream!
Foundations of chalcedony, beryl, jacinth, and sapphire,
amethyst, emerald, sardonyx, topaz…jewels afire!

In the midst of this wonder sits the Lamb upon the Throne.
No need for blazing sunshine…He is Heaven's Light alone!
I wish I could see you, Mary, beholding this great bliss,
seen your joy inexpressible, at God's tender first kiss!

I know there are many mansions in our Heavenly home.
Jesus prepared one for you. It was He Who bid you, "Come."
When I speak of you in Heaven, folks think I'm being brave.
but I know you dwell in Glory, not in a dismal grave.

Can't picture you wearing a halo, strumming golden strings,
reclining on a fluffy cloud. No! God's planned greater things!
Can imagine you at a gate with Mary, Martha, Paul
praising God and thanking Him for Calvary, love and all.

I miss you, my dear friend, and ask Jesus to fill the space
that in me is empty since you went to that prepared place.
Jesus is so faithful. He gives comfort that does not cease.
Believing you dwell near His heart fills my soul with peace.

I know you rest in God's bosom, dream of you bathed in Love,
believe you’ll have a hug for me, when I join you above.
I know for sure big rolling tears would saturate my socks
if I did not believe, Mary, you're in Heaven and it rocks!!!

Maude Carolan Pych

The above poem was adapted for Mary Leak
from the original version, written in 2004.

Sunday, April 21, 2019

The LOVE of GOD

Today’s Lenten Meditation

A-Poem-a-Day
Until Resurrection Day

Alleluia!
He is Risen!!!

Happy Resurrection day!

Image credit: awesomebestpictures.com



GOD’S UNFATHOMABLE LOVE
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16 NASB

For God—
The Majestic Almighty, Omnipotent, King of Kings
Ancient of Days, Elohim, Adonai
my beloved Abba Father

so loved—
with the bigness of His gracious agape heart
a love unfathomable, unconditional
and abounding in mercy

the world—
the whole wide world and everyone in it
in Israel, Jordan, Iran, Russia, Nigeria, China
in Ireland and Italy, where my ancestors came from
in HochHausen, Germany, where loved ones reside
where we’ve been on vacation, Aruba and Bermuda
and all of us right here, in Wayne, New Jersey

that He gave His only begotten Son—
given to us, freely, our Father’s extraordinary gift of Yeshua/Jesus
His sinless Son, to save us from punishment we deserve
for sins we have committed

that whoever believes in Him—
so all we need do to receive this wondrous gift
is believe God’s trustworthy Word
believe that Jesus was born into the world
and that He is our promised Savior

shall not perish—
because of Jesus’ sacrifice upon Calvary’s Tree
and because His Most Precious Blood atoned for all our sins
death has been swallowed up in victory!

but have eternal life—
because of Jesus’ miraculous Resurrection from death
we live because He lives
and will dwell with Him
in the Kingdom of Heaven
to enjoy unimaginable splendors
forever…forevermore

Praise the Lord!

Maude Carolan Pych

Saturday, April 20, 2019

Two Easter Poems

Today’s Lenten Meditation

A-Poem-a-Day
Until Resurrection Day


Image credit: factsandfaith.com

I am pleased to post two Easter poems today:

RISEN

It’s Holy Saturday

Dough is rising
on the kitchen counter

filling me with thoughts
of rising

helium balloons
set free

sunrise
over the Sea of Galilee

waking up

rising

soap bubbles
floating skyward

seagulls soaring

fireworks
booming and bursting

jet planes at take-off

rocket ships
with long trails of fire
zooming to the moon

O, but nothing

nowhere

and no one

has ever done it

or will

…like Jesus

Maude Carolan Pych




My friend, Sister Jane Abeln, SMIC, is a fellow member of the North Jersey Christian Writers Group. In 1965 she wrote the following Easter poem. She brought it to this month's meeting for critique by our group, then made a few changes and sent it to me to post on this blog. It's very musical and meaningful. Read, enjoy and REJOICE! 


          Victim’s Victory

            An Easter Song

The Sheep sleeps:
The meek Lamb who did not speak
before His shearers; Who without shout
under the rod of His branders was led
to His death ‘mid jeers of bystanders;
with only tears for the clotted crowd
and a cry as He felt abandoned
even by God. He sleeps now,
in peace, after the shock,
in the bed of the rock.
He is dead.

The weak Lamb, the meek Man,
meek and weak for love none can speak,
for people no Lamb but Love
could ransom and re-seek.

Bound around, wound in white,
found in the ground, the Light hid from sight.
while in the night, guards watch in fright,
minding the stone, tightly sealed,
for dread lest friends His Body steal
and then propound to all around:
“He is risen from the ground.
He is risen from the dead,
truly risen as He said.”

Then, on the first day of the week,
while still in sleep the people lay,
women came to seek the grave
and, with fragrance sweet, array
the Lamb weak, the Man meek—but
He was not there!
That same daybreak did He speak
to His Mother and to another with her name
when that Mary came to weep and pray.
His life of glory
He’d begun to share.

Redeemed People, Graced Race,
Hear and praise!

The Lamp is light with new fire bright,
Light of a New Day.
The Lamb leads the way
to keep the sheep in the sight
of His Father’s Face.

Crucified, died, from Whose spear-slit side
came streaming blood, a cleansing flood
to wipe away the pride of sin and win again
the sons and daughters of men
by the tides of saving grace.

The sleeping Sheep arises.
He leads the lambs to the land of brightness
where He stands at the Right Hand
of the Most High.

They hymn to Him, the Victim,
praise for so great a Victory,
by which He gained the glory
that sets women and men free.

“Lamb without stain, Who died in pain,
slain to save the race from Satan, pride, and shame:
To You we raise our acclaim of praise.
May You reign for ages of days!
All raise to the skies praise to You on high.
We cry: You rose alive!
Truly, truly, You are alive!
Alleluia! Alleluia!”

Sr. Jane Abeln, SMIC 
Easter, 1965


Friday, April 19, 2019

The Important Thing Is...

Today’s Lenten Meditation

A-Poem-a-Day
Until Resurrection Day

Image credit: constancedenninger.blogspot.com



HE IS NOT HERE
Israel Pilgrimage--2006

Some believe
the Body of Messiah was placed
in the highly venerated
tomb located in the Church
of the Holy Sepulcher

Some believe
He was buried
in a pastoral place
known as the Garden Tomb

The important thing is—
He died. He rose.
He’ll come again.

The important thing is
as a placard proclaims
at the entrance
to the Garden Tomb:

He is not here—
He is risen from the dead

and the important thing is
our sins are atoned--

We live because He lives

so there’s nothing
left to say, except

Hallelujah!

Praise be to Jesus, Our Risen Savior!

Maude Carolan Pych

Thursday, April 18, 2019

Mary's Unfathomable Grief

Today’s Lenten Meditation

A-Poem-a-Day
Until Resurrection Day

Image credit: excerptsofinri.com


THE PIETA

After the earthquake
the peals of thunder
the flashes of lightning across the sky
After the curious crowds dispersed
Mary sat in ominous dimness
upon a mound of earth
at the base of the Cross
clutching the body
of her Son

She cradled Him
in the hollow of her lap
close to her bosom
as she had
when he was
her baby boy

Mary removed
thorns of mockery
that encircled His forehead
and tossed it to the side
Straining to see in the shadows
she carefully picked
fragments of thorn needles
still stuck in His lifeless flesh
although they couldn’t hurt Him
any longer

With her fingertips
she tenderly closed the lids
over His dark, vacant eyes
and smoothed
the disheveled, matted hair
…then she kissed Him

O, my beautiful Son…

Tears flowed
down her face onto His cheeks
mingling with dried blood
With the edge of her garment
she wiped some blood away

John came
and rested his hand
upon her trembling shoulder
He was now her son
She was now his mother

Mysteries
too deep to comprehend
swirled in her mind
like the flap and flutter
of wings and overshadowing
Son of the Most High
and David’s throne

like pregnant Elizabeth’s joy
when the baby leapt in her womb
and the Baptizer himself, when grown
proclaiming his younger cousin
“The Lamb of God, Who
takes away the sin of the world”

and Simeon’s prophesy
that Jesus would be
a Light of revelation
to the Gentiles and the glory
of the people of Israel

Where is the Light?
Where is the glory?
Where is the throne?

Overwhelmed by sorrow
so intense it stabbed her
deep, deep in her inner parts
Mary cried out in anguish
and rent her robe

Was this what old Simeon meant
long ago in the Temple
when he held Jesus in his arms
and said a sword would pierce
my very soul?

O my Son, my beautiful Son…

I cannot fathom the ways of God, but

I do know this cannot be the end

Maude Carolan Pych

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

The Last Supper

Today’s Lenten Meditation

A-Poem-a-Day
Until Resurrection Day

Image credit: messiahjesuschrist.org



COMMEMORATING THE LAST SUPPER
Israel Pilgrimage—2006

We realize this is not the actual place
where Messiah celebrated
the Passover with His disciples
on the night before He suffered
not the very place
where He took bread and broke it
took the cup and shared it
not the room in which He said:

Do this in remembrance of Me

but here we are in the Land
here we are in the relative vicinity
We know the actual Upper Room is long gone
but this is a room and it’s upstairs
as near as we can possibly get
besides, in the spirit
we are here, transported
so this is plenty good enough

We break into praise and worship
to celebrate the Passover meal
the taking of the towel
the washing of feet
the reclining at the table
the dipping of the bread
the very first communion
and another noteworthy occasion—
Pentecost

The presence of the Spirit
falls so mightily upon us
we expect blazing tongues of fire
to tumble down from Heaven
and alight upon our heads

Maude Carolan Pych

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Sunflower Sunshine Along Emmaus Road

Today’s Lenten Meditation

A-Poem-a-Day
Until Resurrection Day

Image credit: 123rf.com
SUNFLOWERS ALONG EMMAUS ROAD
Israel Pilgrimage—1986

A field of big, bodacious sunflowers
seem to be a great cathedral choir
singing the Hallelujah Chorus
with exultation
while sun-shining millions
of dazzling petal spires upon us
along Emmaus Road

It is fitting
because I am ablaze
with Jesus-joy
to be here

as I think about my newly
Resurrected Lord, vanishing
at the very breaking
of the bread

astonishing the disciples
who sat with Him
at table

Those utterly bewildered disciples
whose hearts thumped
and blazed
with glory fire
as He walked with them
as He explained to them
the Holy Scriptures

2000 years ago
somewhere
along this very road

Maude Carolan Pych

Monday, April 15, 2019

"Along Emmaus Road"

Today’s Lenten Meditation

A-Poem-a-Day
Until Resurrection Day

Image credit: gregolsen.com


ALONG EMMAUS ROAD
Luke 24 & Isaiah 53 NASB

I’m sitting in the kitchen
with my Bible open
reading about the men
who were walking to Emmaus
the Sunday following the Crucifixion

thinking how bewildered they were
and dismayed that the one
they supposed was their savior was gone—
He died upon that Cross on Friday
leaving their hopes completely dashed

and I’m thinking about Jesus
joining them on their journey
as a complete stranger
bringing the hope of the Gospel
as He explained about Himself in the Tanakh
without revealing that they were actually walking
the seven miles to Emmaus
with their newly Resurrected Lord

I flip through the pages
and see Jesus handwritten in the margins
of the Old Testament, over and over
wherever I’ve discovered Him anew
and recall each exciting revelation

and imagine their amazement
as they listened to Jesus
revealing Himself as He spoke
about Moses and the Prophets
particularly when He came to the part
about the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53
How exciting it had to have been to hear it
from the lips of the Suffering Servant, Himself—

Despised and forsaken
a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief
smitten of God and afflicted
pierced for our transgressions
crushed for our iniquities
by whose scourging we were healed

Who like a lamb was led to the slaughter
Who like a sheep, was silent before its shearers

assigned a grave with wicked men
but was with a rich man in death

He rendered Himself as a guilt offering
and God would prolong His days

Jesus…Jesus…Jesus

I visualize the men
clutching their burning hearts

When they reached their destination
they invited the stranger to stay with them
because the hour was late

and as they gathered around a table
to partake of an evening meal
Jesus lifted a loaf to bless—

Suddenly their eyes beheld
His nail-pierced hands!

and as He broke their humble bread
they recognized Him

In that instant Jesus vanished!

but the words He spoke
along the road that day
were permanently seared
upon their hearts

so they rose from the table
and hurried off that very hour
all the way back to Jerusalem, in the dark
to tell the disciples of all the wonders
that happened that remarkable day

Maude Carolan Pych

Sunday, April 14, 2019

Walking Along the Via Dolorosa

Today’s Lenten Meditation

A-Poem-a-Day
Until Resurrection Day

Image credit: pixabay.com



AT THE VIA DOLOROSA
Israel Pilgrimage—2006

Twelve feet below
the hustle and bustle and hawking
the crowds, the spices, the wares
of the present Via Dolorosa
lies an ancient pathway
of trodden stones
Yeshua walked upon
in sandaled feet
on His way to Calvary
2000 years ago

ancient stones
stumbling stones
stones Yeshua, weak and weary
likely fell upon as He carried
the cumbersome crossbeam
along that terrible path
to Crucifixion

I remove a shoe
to feel the coolness
of hallowed ground
against my bare sole

We begin singing
Were You There When They
Crucified My Lord

and tremble
tremble, tremble
at the reading
of the Suffering Servant
in Isaiah 53

Millenniums
seem to disappear
It almost feels
like it’s happening here
now—

There’s something
timeless
about it

isn’t there?

Maude Carolan Pych

NOTE: Yeshua is Jesus' Name in Hebrew.

Saturday, April 13, 2019

The Holy Name of God

Today’s Lenten Meditation

A-Poem-a-Day
Until Resurrection Day

Image credit: pikepress.wordpress.com

THE NAME

YHVH
the tetragrammaton
the unutterable
four consonants
of the Most Holy Name
of the Great I Am
Who was, Who is
Who is to come

Whose radiant Face
eyes of mortals
could not behold
and live

Whose Holy Ark
mere mortals
could not touch
and live

until He
Who always was
came in the Person
of His Son

and mortals flocked
to hear Him speak
children climbed
upon His lap
sick and lowly
sought His touch
even grasped
at His hem

By His Word
even the dead arose

When He
Who always was
shed His innocent Blood
upon Calvary’s Cross
the thick woven veil
to the Holy of Holies
tore top to bottom
that all may enter in

By His Holy Name
Salvation comes

Now we know Him
as our Brother
Savior, Friend

We call Him
Jesus/Yeshua

The Messiah

Maude Carolan