Back
to the well,
It
seems we are always called back to the well…
Who
is at the well?
Those
who somehow lead you and I on a path
Yes,
back to the well,
St.
Olaf, Luther Seminary,
what
did we learn about being pastors?
or
was it the side jobs, directing choirs, helping
with
education and internship that might have been the real training.
Came
back early from Long Island internship…
Working
in migrant camps in Door County
Sneaking
into the camps at night
To
work with the families, with games, scripture, conversation, and care
Maybe
the seed was planted there for me…but the poverty
the
nastiness of the cherry farmers
Woke
something in my soul
I
have been to the well, the place before all this religious stuff came to be
Where
the spirit of human kind developed
Through
family, clan, community and nation…
Through
the earth, the four directions, the bode tree, and the cross
Yes,
Luther was a beginning, but only that…
Living
in Japan for over thirteen years,
Being
part of four Parliament of World Religions
My
practice of Zen Buddhism
Now,
five adult children, twelve grandkids, eight children of color in that bunch
Walking
the streets of Milwaukee for Open Housing,
Sitting
in meditation with inmates for over ten years
Standing
in Mandala’s cell on Robin Island, off Cape Town
I
find at the well, a thread that is sewed through all spiritual paths,
A
Word of Life, A Spirit that emboldens, a peace that passes all understanding
I am
at that well, a person of dual practice, a revolutionary for justice,
Sad
and angry the mother church never seems to get it, a warrior poet
In
the tradition of Shambhala…warriors of compassion… No Justice, No Jesus!
But continue
the fight. Why? For all peoples, all creatures, the universe…
My
vocation, a call to be human, at service of all, be in spiritual practice and
live in hope.
Congratulations
Classmates! We are not finished, let’s celebrate and continue the work
we
were sent to do. Whatever form it might be, the Divine blesses us all.
Peace,
ko shin, Bob Hanson
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