He dug he a shallow grave

New poetry is coming hard lately. Below is the beginning of a story I am tinkering with. Let me know what you think.

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He dug her a shallow grave. When the shovel started slipping in his hands he stopped, no reason not to. He figured half of everything we do is courtesy, anyhow, and courtesy had sealed itself off inside his bones a while back.

He rested on the shovel, palming the crown of the staff with his right hand while the other slid until friction stopped it. If he looked at the mound of unpacked earth to the left it kept the sweat out of his eyes. He breathed into a damp sleeve and the cooled smell of salt and soil felt intimate, safe; he drew his shirt between his teeth. Off to the west, in the direction of the coffin, there was an oak tree and beyond the tree a hill and beyond the hill the sun was setting. A cloud bloomed out of the darkening eastern sky and flowered in pink and shadowed petals that fell upon the crest of the hill. But it was the thought of the encroaching darkness and not the blossoming sky that turned his face to the west, to the coffin.

Might as well, he said, and dropped the shovel behind him. Bending slowly towards the casket the thought entered his mind that he should not be the one doing this. He had insisted, he reminded himself. I need to, were his exact words to the deacons. They had nodded and almost said something about forgiveness but didn’t. He edged one corner closer to the grave and fantasized that someone was watching him flex and strain and glare. The face of his father appeared on the imaginary spectator, nodding at this act of grace. Yes, he would have done this.

The Office

Recently, for a class assignment we were asked to examine various cultural "artifacts" (TV shows, movies, architecture, music, poetry, etc.) in order to interpret the various understandings of the world implicit within them. I chose to think about The Office and the various "truths" it portrays. Enjoy!

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The comedy "Mockumentary," The Office, features a failing paper supply company called Dunder-Mifflin based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The central character, Michael Scott, is the regional manager of the Scranton Branch of Dunder-Mifflin. Michael is the definition of an incompetent boss who has little regard for (and/or knowledge of) social boundaries. The character of Michael Scott gives us insight into the world behind the text. Michael's ineptness as a boss drives the comedy forward yet Michael is no mere clown. His understanding of himself and the role of manager is strikingly different from that of those around him, and different from what has come standard operating procedure in American business. While most others see work as a compartmentalized portion of their life characterized by professional etiquette, Michael repeatedly calls his staff his "family." He sees himself, in relation to his employees, first as a friend, second as an entertainer, and finally as boss. Simply stated, Michael expects a deeper level of social interaction than typically available in an office.

His need for this kind of community is tied to deep levels of pain. In the course of the various episodes we learn of a friendless childhood, a turbulent home life, and his various failed attempts at dating. He has no meaningful community outside of the office. Thus, the office becomes his primary source of social interaction because they are forced to be around him, they cannot avoid relationship with Michael as so many others have. With no other alternatives, the office becomes Michael's family, his primary source of relationship.

The comedy of The Office pours forth out of this reality. The underlying and unquestioned assumption that office relationships are superficial and only professional creates the comedic tension that supports the story. Thus, Michael's character becomes a satirical protest against the lonely American office.

The world of The Office is an ongoing competition between sanity (social distance and discretion) played primarily by the straight characters Jim and Pam, and the world envisioned by Michael where social boundaries disappear and he is accepted and successful. This is played out in two rivalries in particular. First, a rivalry between Michael and Toby (the human resources representative) contrasts Michael's priorities with the priorities of the business world as Toby inevitably reminds Michael of "company policy." Second, a rivalry exists between straight man Jim and the doggedly obedient Dwight. Dwight plays an ironic foil to Michael as a parody on the self-reliant "All-American Man." Just as Michael desires to escape the relationship killing constraints of office "business as usual," Dwight embraces the social structures of the office with a gullible respect for all authority in order to cope with his own loneliness. Dwight's elevation of hierarchical structure creates an obsession with his own status and makes him an easy target for Jim's relentless pranking. Whereas Dwight wholeheartedly accepts Michael's office management on the basis of his positional authority, Jim calls attention to the absurdity with generous helpings of sarcasm.

We catch glimpses of the world envisioned by The Office in the relationship between Jim and Pam. Over the course of several seasons we watch the courting that takes place between the two in the office. As the relationship develops and the two eventually get married Michael interprets their marriage as a direct result of his management and the confirmation of his most cherished ideals. Thus, Michael's imagined world in which office relationships are intimate and meaningful is brought to fruition. Ironically, the two straight characters who most heavily resist being pulled into Michael's fantasy become the consummation of it.

Generations

All the mothers

all the fathers

just cans stacked against a wall

in preparation

singing generations

generations

generations

But I'm hungry too.

And I will eat

and I will be other than I am today.

The One Who Calls: A sermon

Click on the below link to watch video of a sermon I delivered at my home church, South MacArthur Church of Christ, on the calling of Moses.

TruthCasting - Sermons

How to Hear a Confession

So often with God

the appropriate conjunction

is not "but"

but "so"

"You've messed up

and caused so much pain,

so

God forgives you."

It is not:

but God loves you anyways,

It is simply:

God loves you.

A Tentative Definition of Scripture

Scripture is the Gospel's most adequate conversation partner.

Prayer in response to Psalm 1

Psalm 1:

Blessed is the man

who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked

or stand in the way of sinners

or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water

which yields fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.

Not so the wicked!

They are like chaff

that the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement

not sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

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Excuse us if we seem unmoved, today, by your word

But we’ve been taught to be

both/and people

and never either/or.

We can’t help but find ourselves

Wary of duality

Skeptical of polarities

Suspicious of dichotomies

Because our world rebuts such simplicity

We’ve seen the power “the right” use against “the wrong”

We’ve discovered lifelong friends among mortal enemies

We’ve explored the tumultuous landscape of our own hearts.

So we resign ourselves to ambiguity,

We feel at home with relativity,

we guard ourselves against extremity.

We choose to be somewhere in between;

a people constrained to shades of gray.

Until you,

who have suffered the power “the right” use against “the wrong”

who have chosen eternal friends among mortal enemies

who have cherished the tumultuous landscape of every heart

re-educate us, re-enlighten us, re-create us with your definiteness:

Either you are Holy or you are not

Either you are Life or you are not

Either you are The Way or you are not

By grace and to our own advantage,

we confess that you are.

Amen.