Poems, Parables and Prayers : For the 3rs Millennium

by Stephens, Phillip T.

• ISBN13: 9781891386220
• ISBN10: 1891386220
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-12-01
• Publisher: Plain View Pr

Table of Contents

Prelude	1	(1)
Invocation	2	(2)
Lord, deliver us from mandatory staff meetings	4	(1)
God visits me in the morning	4	(1)
Parable of the Star Tribe	5	(1)
Lord, deliver me from daily routine	6	(1)
We call on faith to justify greed	7	(1)
The god of my understanding embraces the city	8	(1)
Before time, before space	9	(1)
Spare us from keepers of the code	10	(1)
Enjoy the Lord at the first sign of fall	10	(1)
You can glimpse the grace of God	11	(1)
God's glory showers over my wife	12	(1)
Parable of the lost men	13	(1)
In the spaces at the nucleus, the spaces at the center	14	(1)
May Ar-Rahman visit when you most need comfort	15	(2)
I gripe to God on winter mornings	17	(1)
On winter nights when sleet coats my windows	18	(1)
Parable of the pearl	19	(1)
Lord, hide your saints from the death squads	19	(1)
Embrace your lover and embrace God	19	(1)
On the day you close that million dollar deal	20	(1)
May Allah deliver us from promoters, politicians and	21	(1)
Parable of the old man	21	(1)
The Lord guides me through city streets	22	(1)
Let everyone who loves God	22	(1)
Work won't earn the grace of God	23	(1)
Lord deliver us from keepers of the code	24	(2)
Teach us to love the keepers of the code	26	(1)
God bides her time	27	(1)
Weary of the world	28	(6)
Relish the mornings God gives you	34	(3)
I chill with God on autumn mornings	37	(1)
At the ``God for Kids'' rally on the Capitol steps	38	(1)
Who can fathom the void between electrons?	39	(1)
Justice and mercy are words	40	(2)
Satellites drift in sterile space and spy on us	42	(1)
Parable of the open field	43	(1)
God made afternoons for worship	43	(1)
In paradise we spend our mornings	44	(1)
God's universe pours forth from a stone cold jug	45	(2)
Parable of the pilgrim's search	47	(1)
In the world to come I will miss the scent of Kona brewing	48	(1)
The toothless man you encounter on the street	48	(1)
Parable of the pilgrims	49	(1)
You can't love God and deny the dark corners of creation	50	(1)
The debris that gathers at your desk	51	(2)
Lord lead us to the work we love	53	(1)
Lord, cast your shadow over children	54	(2)
God loves the driver in the slow car too	56	(1)
Lord, deliver us from lies, misdirection and half-truths	56	(1)
Parable of the man of substance	57	(1)
The yellow jacket trapped on the surface of a pond	58	(1)
I would rather pray than draft a memo	59	(2)
So hard to describe Vishnu's presence	61	(1)
Christ pulled the universe from a solitary thread	62	(1)
Set aside the morning to sit in the shade and listen to God	63	(1)
Why do we fear the gifts God gives?	63	(1)
God reveals the world's beauty in desperate times	64	(1)
Those who limit God to their understanding	65	(1)
God is like the book that changes over time	65	(2)
Those who delight in God's creation	67	(1)
The Lord loves pot luck after preaching and prayer	68	(1)
Arguments from design to designer	69	(1)
The Lord loves chitlings and hog maws	70	(2)
Who will stop the tanks from grinding under gradens	72	(5)
Push your chair from your desk	77	(1)
In the world to come the cripple	78	(1)
Don't let the bitter child make you bitter	79	(1)
When the wind brushes you from behind	79	(1)
You don't commit to your lover	80	(3)
The presence of God springs on you	83	(1)
How quickly can God cross the universe	83	(1)
God placed an ember at the center	84	(1)
When the wealthy die, those who survive	85	(1)
Some worship God in the temple	85	(1)
Lord, deliver me from project apartments	86	(2)
God can't be reduced to an image	88	(2)
Everything will die	90	(2)
Afterward	92