{"id":1950,"date":"2012-02-21T12:29:56","date_gmt":"2012-02-21T20:29:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/?p=1950"},"modified":"2012-02-21T12:29:56","modified_gmt":"2012-02-21T20:29:56","slug":"jesus-after-breakfast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/2012\/02\/21\/jesus-after-breakfast\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus After Breakfast"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/h6>\n
Netting the Night<\/em> (detail), painted last year as one of a series with no reference to this psalm. But it fits, don’t you think? Click for larger view, and again for larger yet.)<\/h6>\n

I said there would be psalms (see blog description at right). When I read the following in public somebody labeled it a psalm. “It’s an inner reflection, it’s a talking to God, it’s a psalm,” she said. My sketchbooks are full of them. This one is<\/strong>\u00a0taken from the Peter and Jesus dialogue at the end of the book of John.\u00a0<\/strong>I’ll use the pattern of some Bibles and put the Jesus quotes in red. Oh, and o<\/strong>ne thing you’ll need to know, there are now five of us in a line named “Hyatt;” I’m the third.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let me know if you can relate.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So Jesus turns to me after breakfast and says
\nHyatt, do you love me more than these?<\/span>
\nTaken a bit aback I answer
\nMe? More than these? What These ham and eggs?
\nBut he says nothing back, knowing I\u2019m a smart ass
\nAnd a bit too familiar in my ways with him
\nAt least at times.
\nSo I\u2019m thinking, What does he mean?
\nMore than these others around?
\nWho knows if I do?
\nIt depends in part on how much they do.
\nDoes he mean, These surroundings?
\nThis house we\u2019ve put so much into?
\nThese artifacts of our lives, our travels, our interests?
\nOr how about these paintings
\nThat I love to show
\nAnd display what I love to do?
\nBut there\u2019s no comparison and he knows it.<\/p>\n

Still, the question hangs in the air,
\nDoes he mean these fish? The latest big haul?
\nMy biggest commission yet to come?
\nDo I love him more than these?
\nOf course I do\u2014and he knows.<\/p>\n

So I says\u2026knowing it\u2019s safe, and true
\n(however he means it)
\nOf course I do, you know I do.<\/p>\n

Clean up your life,<\/span>\u00a0he says,
\nand I don\u2019t know what to say after that.<\/p>\n

So he breaks the silence and says:
\nHyatt, son of Hyatt, son of Hyatt,<\/span>
\n Do you truly love me?<\/span>
\nAnd I have to think, Why is he asking me again?
\nAnd why in that way?
\nDidn\u2019t my Yes mean Yes?
\nAm I holding something back?
\nMaybe something I don\u2019t even know but he does?
\nStill, the answer\u2019s the same . . . or wants to be.
\nYes, Lord, I truly love you.<\/p>\n

Feed my sheep,<\/span>\u00a0he says.<\/p>\n

And I say, in my mind, not out loud, What sheep?
\nAnd how?
\nAnd he says, in his mind, not out loud, but I hear it:
\nYou know who, and you\u2019ll know how.<\/span><\/p>\n

But again, I\u2019m silenced
\nNot sure I love him that much . . .
\nBut don\u2019t want to even think that
\nBecause he\u2019ll read the thought
\nAnd has already, long before I thought it.
\nSo all I can do is remain still
\nAnd hope he does not ask again.<\/p>\n

Then:
\nHyatt, father of Hyatt, father of Hyatt,<\/span>
\nDo you love me?<\/span><\/p>\n

And I exasperate\u2026
\nDo I? Do I?
\nI would have said Yes, a thousand times Yes,
\nBut he\u2019s not leaving me be
\nHe\u2019s not leaving enough enough.
\nSo I waffle, prevaricate . . .
\nNever wanting to answer No
\nHating that my Yes is slow
\nBut I know myself . . .
\nMore cock-crow denials may well be ahead
\nAnd all the more if I boast now
\nIt\u2019s a fool that opens his mouth too early
\nBut a coward who opens it not at all.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019m left with this one,
\nThe question I answered Yes to twice
\nBut the third one\u2014or third time\u2014more penetrating
\nAnd I have to think.
\nThe thought occurs to stall and say,
\nExcuse me, Lord, I\u2019ll have to pray about this one.
\nBut that\u2019s absurd,
\nThe whole thing\u2019s a prayer.<\/p>\n

So maybe I\u2019ll leave it
\nOpen ended
\nAnd start each day
\nWith that third-time question
\nLooking for that day\u2019s response
\nLike,
\nHyatt, do you love me today?<\/span>
\nthen show with my life,
\nand reveal to Him
\nand myself
\nthe answer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

____________________________<\/p>\n

If you missed the sermon this was part of, you can find it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Still in Toledo, Oregon.<\/p>\n

Next:\u00a0A bit about beauty<\/em>. Coming Friday.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hey fellow fishers, here’s one, very personal, you might relate to . . . or at least appreciate. It’s the poem from last post’s “love” talk, and on that subject.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1950"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1950"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1950\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2284,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1950\/revisions\/2284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}