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Poets & Saints

City Arts Dept

Poets & Saints is a five-minute liturgical meditation, hosted by Cody Jensen, blending breath, scripture, and sacred writings from mystics and poets. Created for spiritual seekers and believers alike, it offers a quiet invitation to slow down and encounter God in the present moment.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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S4 · E190
Yesterday · 5 min
It's All a Gift
Scripture James 1:17 (NRSVUE) Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights. Refrain It's all a gift. Quote Julian of Norwich, from Revelations of Divine Love "And in this he showed me a little thing, the quantity of a hazelnut, lying in the palm of my hand, as it seemed. And it was as round as a ball. I looked upon it with the eye of my understanding and thought, 'What may this be?' And it was answered generally thus: 'It is all that is made.' I marveled how it might last, for I thought it might suddenly have fallen to nothing for littleness. And I was answered in my understanding: It lasts and ever shall, for God loves it. And so have all things their beginning by the love of God." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E189
Tuesday · 5 min
Look Toward Heaven and Count the Stars
Scripture Genesis 15:5 (NRSVUE) He brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be." Refrain Hope returns when I look up. Quote J.R.R. Tolkien, from The Return of the King "Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E188
Monday · 5 min
Theology Is Best Pursued Outdoors
Scripture Psalm 19:1 (NRSVUE) The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Refrain The world will never starve for want of wonders, but only for want of wonder. Quote Wendell Berry, from The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays "The Bible is best read and understood outdoors, and the farther outdoors the better. Passages that within walls seem improbable or incredible, outdoors seem merely natural. This is because outdoors we are confronted everywhere with wonders; we see that the miraculous is not extraordinary but the common mode of existence." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E187
Friday · 5 min
Take and Read
Scripture Romans 13:13–14 (NRSVUE) Let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires. Refrain I want to spend my life knowing you. Quote Brian Zahnd, from Unseen Existences "Lord, as much as I can mean anything, I mean this prayer in this moment: I want to spend the rest of my life seeking to know you as you are revealed in Christ. Amen." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E186
September 17 · 5 min
Under the Sun
Scripture Deuteronomy 6:4–5 (NRSVUE) Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Refrain Even here, the prayers hold. Quote Jürgen Moltmann "When we encounter insoluble problems and despair, we must remember that the Shema of Israel and the Lord's Prayer were prayed in Auschwitz." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E185
September 16 · 5 min
You Will See Heaven Opened
Scripture John 1:50–51 (NIV) Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that." He then added, "Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." Refrain God is nearer to me than my own soul. Quote Julian of Norwich, from Revelations of Divine Love "God is nearer to us than our own soul, for he is ground in whom our soul stands, and he is the means that keeps the substance and the sensuality together so that it shall never depart. For our soul sits in God, in true rest, and our soul stands in God in sure strength, and our soul is naturally rooted in God, in endless love." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E184
September 15 · 5 min
I Saw You Under the Fig Tree
Scripture John 1:47–49 (NIV) When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit." "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel." Refrain I was seen before I was found. Quote Rabbi Johanan bar Nappaha of Tiberius "Why were matters of Torah compared to a fig tree? Just as this fig tree, whenever a person searches it for figs to eat, he finds figs in it, as the figs on the tree do not ripen all at once, so too, with matters of Torah. Whenever a person meditates on them, he finds in them new meaning." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E183
September 14 · 5 min
Prayer Is the Oxygen of Faith
Scripture 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (NRSVUE) Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Refrain Prayer is keeping company with God. Quote Mother Teresa "Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E182
September 11 · 5 min
Blessed Are the Patient
Scripture Isaiah 30:15 (NRSVUE) For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. Poem Brian Zahnd, Blessed Are the Patient A woman in the kitchen baking bread A farmer in the field sowing seed Both know they must trust to Tiny miracles of fermentation and germination Jesus says— This is how the kingdom of heaven comes Quiet and slow, almost unobserved Nothing like tramping armies on the march Or the inane noise of political campaigns Violence is swift and lies are loud So the kingdom of heaven is slow and quiet Blessed are the patient For theirs is the way of heaven Blessed are the patient For they'll be proved wise Blessed are the patient For time is on their side Instead of fighting, striving, conniving They can wait for the bread to rise They can wait for the wheat to ripen Causes, crusades, and campaigns cannot wait And for this reason they cannot be wise "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread" Those in a hurry to change the world Just make the world more of what it is— Loud and proud and bound To the powers that be So Jesus alludes to something other A woman in her kitchen sipping tea A farmer on the porch with his pipe She's waiting for the bread to rise He's waiting for the rains to come And Jesus whispers— This is the way to be Blessed are the patient For they do it right Blessed are the patient For they keep their peace Blessed are the patient For they change the world (Without even knowing it) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E181
September 10 · 5 min
A Chair at the Table
Scripture Mark 2:15 (NRSVUE) And as he sat at dinner in Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. Refrain There is a place at the table, and it is mine. Quote Henri Nouwen, from Behold the Beauty of the Lord: Praying with Icons "To live in the world without belonging to the world summarizes the essence of the spiritual life. The spiritual life keeps us aware that our true house is not the house of fear, in which the powers of hatred and violence rule, but the house of love, where God resides." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E180
September 9 · 5 min
Entertaining Angels
Scripture Hebrews 13:2 (NRSVUE) Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. Refrain I welcome everything that comes to me today. Quote The Welcoming Prayer Mary Mrozowski "Welcome, welcome, welcome. I welcome everything that comes to me today because I know it's for my healing. I welcome all thoughts, feelings, emotions, persons, situations, and conditions. I let go of my desire for power and control. I let go of my desire for affection, esteem, approval, and pleasure. I let go of my desire for survival and security. I let go of my desire to change any situation, condition, person, or myself. I open to the love and presence of God and God's action within. Amen." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E179
September 8 · 5 min
Under the Oaks
Scripture Genesis 18:1 (NRSVUE) The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. Refrain The present of our life looks different under trees. Quote Wendell Berry, from A Timbered Choir "I go among trees and sit still. All my stirring becomes quiet around me like circles on water. My tasks lie in their places where I left them, asleep like cattle." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E178
September 7 · 5 min
Not Knowing Where He Was Going
Scripture Hebrews 11:8 (NRSVUE) By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance, and he set out, not knowing where he was going. Refrain I set out without knowing. Faith is what I carry. Quote Søren Kierkegaard, from Fear and Trembling trans. L.M. Hollander "Through the urging of his faith Abraham left the land of his forefathers and became a stranger in the land of promise. He left one thing behind and took one thing along: he left his worldly wisdom behind and took with him faith." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E177
September 4 · 5 min
Our Hearts Were Burning
Scripture Luke 24:30–32 (NIV) When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" Refrain My heart burns as I walk with him. Quote Brian Zahnd, from Unseen Existences "If we will stay on the journey, press on along the pilgrim path, stay on the road with Jesus, we will come to understand the mysteries of Christ in deeper and truer ways, and like Cleopas and Mary, our hearts will burn within us." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E175
September 3 · 5 min
There Is No Path
Scripture 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV) For we live by faith, not by sight. Refrain I make the path by walking it. Quote Antonio Machado, trans. Betty Jean Craige "Wayfarer, only your footprints are the path, and nothing more; wayfarer, there is no path, you make the path as you walk. As you walk you make the path, and as you turn to glance behind you see the trail that you never shall return to tread again. Wayfarer, there is no path, only wake trails on the sea." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E175
September 2 · 5 min
The Lethargy of Settled Certitude
Scripture Philippians 3:12–14 (NRSVUE) Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Refrain I press on. I have not arrived. Quote John Bunyan, from Pilgrim's Progress "His burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble, and so continued to do, till it came to the mouth of the sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more. Then was Christian glad and lightsome." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E174
September 1 · 5 min
Not a Ticket But a Road
Scripture Matthew 7:13–14 (NRSVUE) "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it." Refrain Truth is a road, and I am walking it. Quote Brian Zahnd, from The Last Train Out of Monkey Town "Truth is not a laminated card you carry in your pocket, Truth is a long hard road and you have to walk it." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E173
August 31 · 5 min
We're On a Road Trip
Scripture Acts 9:2 (NIV) ...and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. Refrain I belong to the Way. I am on the road. Quote Jack Kerouac, from On the Road "As we crossed the Colorado-Utah border I saw God in the sky in the form of huge gold sunburning clouds above the desert that seemed to point a finger at me and say, 'Pass here and go on, you're on the road to heaven.'" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E172
August 28 · 5 min
The Greatest Wonder of All
Scripture John 1:14 (NIV) The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Refrain The Word became flesh. This is the greatest wonder. Quote Brian Zahnd, from Unseen Existences "In that numinous moment I whispered a prayer: God, I want to spend the rest of my life in a constant state of wonder. What happened next was wholly unanticipated. A reply whispered back, This is the greatest wonder of all — the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S4 · E171
August 27 · 5 min
The Most Beautiful Thing
Scripture 1 Corinthians 15:51 (NIV) Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. Refrain Mystery is where all knowing begins. Quote Albert Einstein "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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