Thursday, August 25, 2005
Bread of Life
My Dad wrote the following poem in the cover of his Jerusalem Bible, which he was given by a friend, as a gift on his wedding with my Mother. I remember him pouring over it for many hours... It's one of the few of his possessions that he kept over the years, through all the moves... He passed away when I was 14, after a car wreck. I am not certain as to where he is now, only hoping... I think that he was a wonderfully gifted writer, but tragically a perfectionist as well. I remember my Mom being so upset one night because in a frustrated writers' fury, after an argument over his writing, he'd thrown the entire manuscript of a book he'd been working on for a long time - into the fireplace, where it burned up. I was 13yo, and remember this vividly, I was shocked that he'd actually simply throw away all that work in a rage...I also remember him looking through the ashes later, for any remnants that might be left. *smiles* Yes, a man of passions he was. Now that he is gone, every recorded word of his is invaluable to us, his 5 children. I've copied his heart felt words here, verbatim. These are probably some of his most honest words, for him to have written them into his Bible;
Wholly, wholly, wholly back to the beginning
God is in Christ Jesus now,
and He is food to us.
Feeding, feeding, feeding,
crazy-seekers eating
In God's Recovery,
we don't know so much.
Loudly shouting, "Jesus",
O it really feeds us.
We have found where Jesus is,
He's in the hungry mouth.
Not religious nodding,
but recovered shouting
In God's Recovery,
we don't know so much.
Chewing, chewing, chewing,
not our outward doing
Stop all your working now,
begin again to EAT.
Feasting, feasting, feasting,
drop the old dead teachings
In God's Recovery,
we just know to EAT.
~William Lee McNatt, Jr.
Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
~Jesus, John 6.35-40
How I do hope to meet up with him again, on the other side of the Jordan... that my children may meet him. Chris thinks he'll be there.
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