Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
A call to pray for the conflict in the Middle East

If you listen, you can hear it.
Agonizing screams.
Haunting groans.
Heaving sighs.
And the whys are easily answered.

Once again Rachel is weeping for her children.
As in ancient times,
she refuses to be comforted.
And for good reason.
Her heart is broken in a million shards of sorrow.
There is brutality and bloodshed.
There is pain and suffering.
There are unprecedented atrocities.
The stench of death dominates the domain of Jacob’s descendants.

In the “City of Peace,”
there is no peace.
In a nation that once flowed with milk and honey,
there is bitterness and hate.
The Promised Land is a region of broken promises.
Sibling rivalry is taking a deadly ungodly toll.

Yes, the sons of Abraham are fighting each other as before.
And this dysfunctional family will likely destroy itself
unless peace-loving people
look for creative ways to broker a settlement.

For a place to which all of Abraham’s progeny lay claim,
let us pray.
Let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Is There a Doctor in the House?

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
Poetical commentary on the current chaos on Capitol Hill

Is there a doctor in the House?
The Speaker’s lost his voice.
A rampant virus took its toll it seems.
The sickness underneath the Dome
cannot be simply masked.
What is at stake is our dear Uncle’s dreams.

What Sam envisioned long ago
(brave people living free)
has given way to states of blue and red.
The way we lived with differences
(through compromise and grace)
no longer is the norm by which we’re led.

The radicals on either side
have spread contagious germs.
We need a trained physician with great skill
to diagnose this grim disease
before it is too late.
The House reflects our nation (gravely ill).

An E-Mail from Heaven

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
What’s in the subject box of emails from Heaven?

If Heaven offered free e-mail.
what would our loved ones want to tell?

Since they now know what matters most,
I’m guessing they would write…

To view each day as if a gift.
To run t’ward peace when there’s a rift.

To see the value when we play.
To know God hears us when we pray.

To recognize there’s always time
to bend an ear or to be kind.

To smell the fragrance of a flower.
To bask beneath a summer shower.

To feel the wonder of it all
when autumn leaves begin to fall.

To taste the sweetness of a pear.
To give to God our every care.

To serve a homeless man a meal
and then to journal what we feel.

To stroke a newborn baby’s hand
in awe of God’s mysterious plans.

To watch the ocean churn and foam.
To take a sunrise walk alone.

To stand beside a dying friend
and hold their hand until the end.

To understand that life is brief
marked both by joy but also grief.

To come to terms with Jesus Christ
acknowledging His sacrifice.

To baptize Doubt as Faith’s godchild
who will (in time) believe.

A Prayer for Peace

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
Let there be peace on earth… and let it begin with me!

Do you remember
this is the day
that Earth Wind and Fire
inked in red
with their unforgettable hit “September?”

And lest we forget,
let me remind you
that today is also
the International Day of Peace.

On this twisting and turning planet
where politicians are poles apart
and the magnetic pull of pride draws
unnecessary lines in the sand,
join me in praying for peace today…

“May peace prevail on earth we ask.
Help us, dear God, to own our task
admitting when we know we’re wrong
and righting what we can.

May we commit to speak the truth
refraining from what is uncouth.
And may we listen with both ears
to those whose truth we’ve shunned.

May kindness punctuate our days
as we eschew our former ways
of getting even for some pain
another might have caused.

May tolerance and compromise
cause folks to see Christ in our eyes
as we determine every day to love as Jesus loved.

And may Saint Francis‘ prayer for peace
leap from our lips and never cease
to codify what we desire:
to be God’s instruments.“


And speaking of SEPTEMBER by Earth, Wind and Fire, enjoy!

An Invitation to Dance

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
Ballroom dancing is a picture of God’s grace

He looked at me and said, “Let’s dance.
I’ll lead. Just lean on me!”
But I protested to the Lord,
“I’m clumsy! Can’t you see?

“I’ve two left feet. I don’t know how.
I think I’d trip or fall.
I’d rather sit and sip some punch.
I just don’t dance, that’s all!”

But He refused to turn away.
He winked at me and said,
“This is our song. Don’t sit out.
Come dance with Me instead.”

We waltzed across the ballroom floor.
With grace, He took the lead.
I didn’t know which way to turn,
yet didn’t feel the need.

I leaned my head against His arm
and felt His strong embrace.
I knew He wouldn’t let me go
or fall flat on my face.

Though lost in wonder, love and joy,
I found myself that night.
What I had feared for all those years
became my soul’s delight.

To think I’d almost passed it up.
Thank God, I took a chance
when He invited me to risk
by asking me to dance.