Curations: I am

Throughout John's Gospel, Jesus used "I am" statements to paint a picture of who he was.

"I am the bread of life..."

"I am the vine..."

"I am the light of the world..."

"I am the good shepherd..."

And each statement tells us, in its own way, something about the nature of Jesus and the nature of God - even if the language is more figurative and vague.

But as I read Jane Kenyon's poem (below), I can't help but reflect on these "I am" sayings of Jesus...and wonder what we might discover of God if we reflect on Kenyon's "I am" statements in her poem (which is, in fact, about the mysteries of the Divine presence).

• Which of these statements/images resonates most with you? Why?

• What might each of these images tell you about God's nature?

• What do you think the title means?

• Can you guess from the image below which one is my favorite? :)

Jane Kenyon, "Briefly It Enters, and Briefly Speaks"

I am the blossom pressed in a book, found again after two hundred years. . . . I am the maker, the lover, and the keeper.... When the young girl who starves sits down to a table she will sit beside me. . . . I am food on the prisoner's plate. . . . I am water rushing to the wellhead, filling the pitcher until it spills. . . . I am the patient gardener of the dry and weedy garden. . . . I am the stone step, the latch, and the working hinge. . . . I am the heart contracted by joy. . . . the longest hair, white before the rest. . . . I am there in the basket of fruit presented to the widow. . . . I am the musk rose opening unattended, the fern on the boggy summit. . . . I am the one whose love overcomes you, already with you when you think to call my name. . . .

- GJD

(Below is an image of Kenyon, writing on her typewriter.*)

*For you kids, a typewriter is like a manual computer.