Indignity

-


Do you see the beauty

in the deciduous tree,

stripped

of its garments,

branches bracing the chill,

ready to embrace the spirit

of new birth?

 

Do you see the beauty

of emptiness,

the earthen vessel,

the clay pot,

emptied of all it once contained,

to be filled to the brim

with grace?

 

Do you see the cross members,

rough-hewn beams,

bound for humiliation,

tools of Roman execution,

planted on a hillside,

overlooking

the Holy City

without a trace of indignity?



copyright 2025 - Donald P James Jr

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jesus in the Snow

-
Image
This picture hung on the side of my parents refrigerator when I was a child.  I was always intrigued by the black and white blotches which did not seem to form anything recognizable.  One day I asked my mother about the photograph.  She said it was the face of Jesus and that if I looked closely I could see Him. I could not for the life of me see our Lord in the meaningless menagerie of spots.  I remember standing at the side of the refrigerator staring at the picture as it hung there almost taunting me. One day, in my teen years, when I wasn't really trying to see the face in the black and white blotches anymore, I saw Him.  Maybe I needed to see the face more, at that age, when I was on the threshold of adulthood then when I was a child.  Now, as the years have passed, I find it difficult not to see Him in the patterns of melting snow on the mountainside. ~ I have a question for you.  When you look at the patterns of melting snow, do yo...
Read more

Matthew 19

-
Image
Does our law allow these things? And with the question He points back to scripture. "Have you not read". All the answers are right there. But you have to have eyes to see and ears to hear. Why then... and but...? Because you are dense, hard to teach. Two shall unite, man and woman, as in the days of creation. No man may separate or redefine. They ask a question, specific, and the Lord's answer encompasses so much more. They question divorce and He defines marriage. Does His law allow these things? copyright 2018 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author
Read more

Pine Tree

-
Image
"Is it perfect?" Marcy said as they stopped along the short path. It was quiet on the edge of the woods, walking through the tree farm.  She loved the sound of snow crunching under her feet.  The three inches that had fallen three days ago was crusty underfoot.  The sun was trying its best to melt winter's dressing.  Marcy could feel the glowing warmth on her face, despite the cold temperatures. "Better than perfect," Robert replied. This would be their first Christmas as husband and wife.  They had come out to tag the tree.  It would later be cut down and Robert would pick it up with his Ford F-150 next weekend. "Will the star fit on top?  It is my Grandmother's star.  It has to fit on the top." "It will," Robert assured her. She wrapped her arm around the crook of his elbow. "If I listen," she said. "I can almost hear the sap running through the bark." "You're thinking of Maple Trees." "Nope.  I am...
Read more

Embattled Denominations

-
Image
Embattled denominations, tearing apart the precious body of our savior. Laws of man, apart from God's word, twisted by politics and the quest for filled pews. One phrase, one word, and one religion is saved, while another is doomed. Jesus taught to seek Him, not the laws of men, the glory of modern Pharisees, or the virtue of politics. copyright 2025 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author
Read more

The Dash

-
Image
This story is a prequel to the novel 'Afternoons with Mister D'   An early October day.  The leaves were changing.  A maple, marking the location they arrived at, had turned golden a few weeks ago.  Already it had dumped nearly all of its ornamentation.  Two young men, friends since the days of grammar school, stood beside a rectangular boundary of light green grass, planted at the end of summer. "I'm joining the seminary," One of them said.  His name was Jimmy Klein.  He'd graduated high school a little less than a year and a half ago.  He delayed going to college.  His friend, the one beside him, Nicolas, was beginning his second year at a state college. "You talked about taking that road when we were Freshmen in high school," Nicolas said. "Yeah... then second year came... Cross Country..." "I remember." Nicolas scuffed the grass with the soul of his shoe.  To everyone around him, he was known as Nick, or Nicolas D.  No one eve...
Read more

A Prophet Has Walked Among You

-
Image
They shall know that a prophet has been among them  Ezekiel 2:5 Christ Walking on the Water - Julius Sergius von Klever You should be able to tell by the imprints left by his sandals. Is there evidence that a heavy beam was dragged behind him? You should be able to tell since he was shunned by those who knew him most, by those who'd seen him when he was less serious about life. You should be able to tell by the words spoken from his mouth, or by the results of his hands being laid on the afflicted. A prophet walked among you. The lamb stood in your presence and you said, "Not him.  He is just a carpenter. Not him.  He is unacceptable, even in his own home." copyright 2024 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author
Read more

Daily Bread (Proverbs 30:7-9)

-
Image
Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die; Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God Proverbs 30:7-9 "I have these needs," she says. "I need an abundance of things.  My closet is full.  My pantry is stocked.  And yet, if I really think about it, I'm not happy.  I've recently discovered this about myself.  I don't know how to change.  I don't know where I should direct my life.  I feel that my world is cluttered... a mess." The listener sits back in her chair.  The woman across the room is crying out for help.  The listener knows she is limited to the wisdom God will pour out.  She prays silently and speaks firmly. "Things. Stuff." The listener begins, "It burdens your soul.  You cannot find happiness when you see...
Read more

Proverbs 4:11

-
Image
The Dream of Solomon - Luca Giordano The way, the path you have been shown. The route, rough at times, has lingered by a sea with fishermen, it has crossed the barrenness of the countryside and delivered us to the Holy city. The way, the journey of uprightness embraces all if they but seek comfort. You will not stumble along this path, each stride will have purpose. The way, a proverb, from Father to Son, and then to the adopted. Instruction given from a bush, burning, from a small rise in a meadow, and from the wooden beams of new life. copyright 2025 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author
Read more

Lukewarm

-
Image
"So, because you are lukewarm,  neither hot nor cold,  I am about to spit you out of my mouth." Revelation 3:16 Saint John Write the Book of Revelation on the Isle of Patmos - Gaspar de Crayer Neither refreshing, nor soothing. Neither quenching the thirst  on a hot day, nor healing as warmth should. You are lukewarm. You can claim to be neither cold, nor hot. Your temperature disgusts. You are to be spit out of the mouth. You are lukewarm. You have seen the falling away, the weakening of every Gospel. You place the world in your view and cast off the Word. You are lukewarm. Laodicea, your wealth, your position in this world, means nothing, if you neither refresh or heal. If you are lukewarm copyright 2024 - Donald P James Jr https://www.amazon.com/stores/Donald-P.-James-Jr./author
Read more