Category Archives: Clericalism

My ledger swells with borrowed grace,
Yet still I claim another’s place;
Lord wipe the books my pride has kept—
For mercy paid my endless debt.

My fist once preached a sermon loud,
A dent beneath a holy shroud;
But Christ walked calm through rage and cry—
And taught my anger how to die.

Beneath the grass a river lies,
A hidden sea beneath the skies;
I draw each dawn from Christ’s own well—
And thirst returns so I may tell.

I stood outside the music hall
And counted what was owed to me;
But mercy opened wide the door—
A son was all I had to be.

The vineyard’s fruit was not my own,
Yet still I claimed the fields as throne;
Until a voice—both fierce and kind—
Spoke like a prophet to my mind.

I warmed myself by comfort’s flame,
And called the distant wars a game;
But Heaven’s mercy drew a line—
The comfort I kept was never mine.

I knelt to wish for throne and crown,
But Christ walked by and set them down.
The chalice gleamed where glory shone—
And suddenly the wish was gone.

I sought a chair, a place to stand,
A title held in careful hand;
But saints win crowns by kneeling low—
The truest example is to serve and go.

I weighed my brother on my scale,
And found him wanting, thin and frail.
But Heaven’s cup poured wide and free—
The larger measure judged was me.

On mountain height His glory flared,
Then down the dusty road He fared.
Transfigured light in mortal frame—
The pasture never looks the same.