Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
homeless god (Poems by Phillip Aijian)

homeless god (Poems by Phillip Aijian)

Last updated on: January 8, 2020 at 5:52 pm by John Mark N. Reynolds

homeless god (Poems by Phillip Aijian) 2020-01-08T17:52:17-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The message is barely legible—-

as if he wanted you to struggle

a bit to read it. As if he wanted

to make you look twice.

And I do.

Bless the poor.

homeless god is a series of poems by Phillip Aijian and published in the Californios Chapbook Series No. 3.

What if a poet reflected on the words of Jesus at Matthew 25?

There Jesus tells what the King will do at the end of time for those who have fed the hungry, given water to the thirsty, taken in the stranger, clothed the naked, provided care to the sick, and visited those in prison. “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

These sayings are so morally good and easy to affirm since they have been built into any Christian culture. Even a post-Christian culture, like some in Western Europe often will cling to this teaching. Yet these teachings are hard to do. No culture, Christian or otherwise, has ever come close to meeting Jesus in everyone. Few individuals, Christian or otherwise, have been able to do what Jesus commands.

We must reflect on what our King wishes if we have any hope of doing better. How can we see Jesus in “the least of these my brethren?”

Dr. Aijian has given us poems for this task, powerful, theologically rich. They do not make seeing Jesus easy in the brothers. In one the poet looks at a brother and says: “Jesus has gotten fat.” Nobody is perfect, yet Jesus is what we must first see.

Jesus in the “least of these” of the poems also helps as much as He needs help. Grace comes to the narrator. After the gift of a bus token from one such Jesus, the poet writes:

Of its surprising coolness, my whole

being feels itself to drink.

In my hand a drop of rain.

In my hand, the first day of spring.

Aijian uses language sparingly, sticking to common words, and short lines. I read each poem quickly. Some lines penetrated like seeds put in soil and often the poems where they appear flower in an emotion or message. As a result, one returns and slowly rereads seeing what is missed. The poems plant, the images used support the growth of the emotional lessons, and finally reach an emotional fulfillment.

In this sense, these are almost poetic fables. If Aesop was telling stories with moral messages, then Aijian is giving us encounters with an emotional message. The poet is trying to train our hearts. This is hard to do, but (generally) works here. I might wish for a larger collection to allow for an even broader set of experiences and more emotionally training.

The hasty will be quick to apply these poems politically or economically. Somebody should do something about unjust systems, bad cultural structures, and wicked politicians. There are poems to write on such topics, but they are not the only considerations. Aijian’s narrators find Jesus personally by coming into contact with Jesus. The narrator is doing the work Jesus commends or failing (somehow) to do so.

This is not incompatible with systematic change, but surely the poet is entitled to direct his readers vision to helping that person, that Jesus over there. Arguing over how to do this often excuses us from doing the work ourselves. We might be all too happy to love the poor in the abstract while missing Jesus under the bridge on the drive home.

Just reminding me to see Jesus in those around me was helpful: “Jesus is wearing jeans and a t-shirt advertising a bowling alley long derelict.”

God help me not to miss Jesus.

Buy the collection. Read with your whole soul and body!

—————————————

*I received a review copy from the publisher. Mr. Aijian also is a former student. I still loved the work.

Spiritual Reflections

Previous Post

January 7, 2020

Twenty Observations for 2020

Next Post

January 9, 2020 The Stars are Ours (Andre Norton) (Part I)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Apologetics Art Culture Education On Books On Education Philosophy Politics Pop Culture Spiritual Reflections Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 July 2025 June 2025 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 December 2023 June 2023 September 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "As for me, I know that my redeemer lives"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Abraham Job Joseph Moses

Books by This Author John Mark Reynolds

See All Titles »