Page 3 - Your Extravagant Kindness

Preface

Our starting place is this affirmation: the Creator of the Universe loves you.

In creating this poetic engagement with the Biblical Psalms I find that I have a number of
influences. I have been mindful of the poetic elements of parallelism (repetition of images)

and alliteration and assonance (repetitions of sounds). The need to revere Godde’s creation
affects some of my word choices as does my Christian faith. But the impetus for this collection
is my personal difficulty in praying the Psalms which has long been treasured text within

Judaism and within the Church. It has been observed that the Biblical Psalms make it possible
for us to own a vast array of emotions. We are shown that the Divine has the capacity to hold
our emotions: fear, anger, sorrow, pain, jealousy, vengeance, joy, peace, adoration, et al. But
having observed myself and others over the years, I see the danger of holding angry, spiteful

language close to my heart. I am reminded of Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount:

“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’;
and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are

angry with a sibling, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a sibling you
will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell
of fire.” Matthew 5:21-21.

If Jesus employs hyperbole, he does so to make an important point. It is dangerous to nurture

resentments. As I prepare these remarks, I recall that what holds our attention shapes our
thoughts which in turn inspire our words and actions. I suspect that too many people in our
society, including myself, have found (perhaps subconciously) permission here, and elsewhere

in Scripture, to indulge our anger at the cost of intentional relationship. And so I’ve attempted
to address “the enemy” as the inner promptings which would direct me away from acting out
Godde’s gracious intentions.

The less familiar spelling of the word Godde offered in these selections remind us of the
untamable Otherness of the Divine. Most often found in the genitive form, Goddes, it is
1
employed in numerous Old English and Middle English phrases. So, while it has historicity on
its side, this spelling also serves to open us to the contemplation of the mystery of Godde,
who creates us (whatever our gender or sexuality) in Godde's own image.

1From Middle English Compendium https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/middle-english-dictionary/dictionary/MED18945: For
example: Goddes sone, Christ; goddes gost, the Holy Ghost; goddes gest, a stranger; and it is often included in oaths: (bi)
goddes armes, (bi) goddes merci, for goddes passioun.