Archive for category Art
Falling Up
I am falling, falling.
It is neither hot not cold, I feel nothing. I see nothing.
Just falling, falling. Down, down, down…
I wake up. I am lying on my back in a field of wild grass. The smell of earth fills my nostrils. The air is warm, springlike. The sun is up, but not too hot. I am alone.
I stand up and dust myself off. Expectant, but not impatient.
He comes. I do not see Him, but I feel His presence drawing near. I wait.
The Voice speaks. “Welcome, my son.”
My mouth quirks. “Hello. Father.”
The Voice smiles, though I still see nothing. “Yes, I am your father. And many other things, including your enemy. But above all else, your father.”
I say nothing. There has been no question. There is nothing to say.
The Voice grins. “Come”, He says, and gestures without hands.
***
Redemption: A Vision in Many Pieces
Redemption
A Vision in Many Pieces
Ernest Prabhakar
June 8th, 2001
“God, its too big for me to carry!”
“I know, my son.”
We sat at the bottom of my heart, facing the dark, concrete-like slab which was my need for love, my desire for human intimacy to the fill the void in my life and give me meaning. We had been doing some Spring Cleaning of my soul. It had been a while since I’d talked with God, and when I finally got around to it again I was surprised to discover lots of worries and fears weighing me down. The stuff on top was relatively easy – I handed over issues at work, my marriage, relations with family. But then we got down to things which had been undisturbed for years, maybe decades, and I realized I couldn’t move these myself.
“Will you carry it out?”
“Of course, but I will not do it alone. You must be a part of the process. It is yours, after all”
Song: That’s Grace
Part 2 of the Guilt-Grace-Gratitude musical trilogy, from my 1996 meditations on The Grace Cycle.
Song: From Guilt to Grace
The following song is a lyrical version of “Graphical Theology: The Grace Cycle“, part of my burst of artistic exploration in 1996. It was the first element of a trilogy on the Reformation themes of Guilt-Grace-Gratitude, but unlike the other two I never was happy enough with it to put it to music.
If Only In My Youth
This is a another poem from my old site, written back in 2004 as I was beginning my current voyage of self-discovery. It starts out a bit whiny, but that’s where I was back then. :-)
The meter is loosely based on Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, and the plot is partly inspired by Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis.
Song: No Longer Alone
This is a song I wrote back in 1996 in my post-college, pre-Apple days in Pasadena, California. It was for a girl I knew — heck, it fit pretty much all the girls I hung out with and/or was interested in during that decade.
I also sang it during a “Christian Connection” (online dating site) cruise back in 1999, just before I met Sandhya. By God’s grace I got to perform for the ship talent show. I said I was part of a Christian singles group with 80 women and 15 men — and I was having a *great* time! (as was reported almost daily on the ship’s TV :-).
“But being single wasn’t always fun and games — and that’s why I wrote this song.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Unforgiven: A Testimony in Three Persons
I’m in the process of cleaning up my “personal” site on DrErnie.com, and as part of that I’m moving some of my earlier writings to this site.
To start with, I present “Unforgiven”, a more-or-less accurate transcript of the first time God really dealt with me about anger…
Unforgiven
A testimony in three persons
The stage appears empty except for a single chair, center, facing right. A man sits on it backwards, facing left, hugging the back of the chair. His expression is grim. A single spotlight shines down on him. Another man walk out from right, and stands looking at him from the semi-darkness. The first man speaks, but remains facing left.
Good News for Modern Nerds
The Nerd Bible (pdf) started with my sermon notes from 1985 at Park Street Church in Boston, where I was an MIT sophomore. Our college pastor Tony DeOrio used phrases like “integrating faith into our lives” and “love should differentiate Christians from the world.” Being intrinsically lazy — not to mention nerdly — I wrote those phrases down using calculus (#7 and #9).
When MIT made available a new-fangled Postscript printer capable of math symbols, I decided to learn the formatting language LaTeX to try it out. Just for the fun of it, I started with my sermon notes, then added other verses which used the different math functions available (#2, #3, #6 and #8). The Fourier transform (#6) is the only formula not recognizable by most first-year calculus students, but it makes such a beautiful mathematical/theological statement I feel it is worth the confusion it causes.
In the fall of 1986, I was studying cultural contextualization in the “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement” missions class. I realized my equations formed something pretty close to a gospel outline in math. To fill in the holes, I came up with several theological and Christological statements (#1, #4,and #5). “Lamb’ de God” probably represents the pinnacle of my efforts at combining bad puns and good theology.
The final touch (#10) was based on a challenge my lab partner Scott Beasley issued after seeing my first draft. “Yeah, but could you ever represent the Song of Solomon in calculus?” You be the judge.
Update: Also available as a T-shirt.
This is my blog…
This is my blog on Wordle.
Samuel Jacobson, Seeker of Knowledge – Part 2
[Today's story, the conclusion to the Scribe of Nicodemus, is actually the one I originally intended to write (since I write more-or-less stream of consciousness, it is easy to get sidetracked :-). The impetus for this project was the fact that Jesus seemed to expect Nicodemus to understand what he said in John 3. I found myself wondering what kind of response Jesus was looking for, and whether Nicodemus -- or anyone! -- could have handled it better. I thought about writing myself into the encounter with Jesus, but I wanted a character who hadn't already studied this passage a dozen or more times. On the other hand, there had to be some plausible way for the character to improve on Nicodemus. This led me to the idea of Nicodemus' personal secretary: bright, educated, young, and in a position to benefit from Nicodemus' example. I chose the name Samuel because, frankly, it was one of the few Jewish names I could spell! Similarly, I mentioned Gamaliel at the beginning simply to burnish Samuel's resume. Their climactic encounter at the end of Part I -- and the significance of his namesake -- caught me completely by surprise. As will today's narrative, because as of right now I have no idea how Samuel will react when he meets Jesus...]
Prologue, Redux
I wait in the darkness, shivering — not from the cold. Most would call what I’m doing disloyal; some would call it blasphemy. I can’t help it; I have to know. I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, I can barely think. My familiar world — everything I’ve ever believed in — is hanging by a thread. I’m terrified that the thread might snap; yet, a part of me is hoping that it will. That just maybe there’s something bigger, brighter, and more beautiful awaiting at the bottom of this seemingly dark chasm I’m dangling over.
But just when I’m ready to give up hope, He comes…
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Samuel Jacobson, Scribe of Nicodemus – Part 1
[The following is a work of fiction. Though obviously based on the events of John 3, it is not in any way meant to be a theological study or doctrinal statement. Rather, it is what C.S. Lewis might (charitably) call "sanctified imagination", to probe and challenge my understanding of Jesus -- and perhaps yours.]
Prologue
I wait in the darkness, shivering — not from the cold. Most would call what I’m doing disloyal; some would call it blasphemy. I can’t help it; I have to know. I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, I can barely think. My familiar world — everything I’ve ever believed in — is hanging by a thread. I’m terrified that the thread might snap; yet, a part of me is hoping that it will. That just maybe there’s something bigger, brighter, and more beautiful awaiting at the bottom of this seemingly dark chasm I’m dangling over.
But the real question that rings through my head is: will He come?
O Love That Will Not Let Me Go
Along with seven other “young” men [I'm the oldest :-], I am beginning a new Leadership Development Team at Kingsway Community Church. Among other assignments, we were asked to pick one area we wanted to grow in (and be accountable for). For me, I think the biggest challenge is my need/desire to “perform.” The antidote to that, I believe, is learning to receive God’s love like a little child. Which made me think of this hymn…
The Kingdom of Love, Take 1
This last weekend, along with over a dozen members of our church, I had the privilege of attending Salt & Light’s
North American Leaders’ Conference (WEST) at The King’s Community Church in Langley, British Columbia (just outside Vancouver). We had the immense privilege of hearing from Bob Mumford, who actually founded our church many years ago. He is a deeply insightful speaker — and has been to hell and back since then — so it was a deep privilege to have him share directly from his heart.
In trying to summarize what he taught us over four days, I found myself returning to a phrase I’d started humming a few months ago “I want to live (3X) in the Kingdom of Love.” One thing led to another, and my summary turned into a song. To be honest, it is probably too terse and disjointed to work as either a summary or a hymn, but it was nonetheless useful as a way to help me digest the many things he taught. Perhaps someday I can refine it into something more useful.
Technorati Tags: christianity, doctrine, godliness, grace, righteousness, sin, teaching, transformation
Re-Deemed by Ernest N. Prabhakar
Trappist by Ernest N. Prabhakar
FLOD: The Fountain of Love’s Overflowing Dominion
The Metallic Rules (Gold, Silver, Platinum…)
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
2. The Silvery Rule
Do not do unto others as you would not have them do unto you
3. The Brazen Rule
Do unto others as they do unto you
4. The Iron Rule
Do unto others before they do unto you
5. The Leaden Rule
Do unto others as others have done unto you
6. The Gilded Rule
Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you
7. The Platinum Rule
Do unto others as I [Jesus] have done unto you
Click [Read More] for my comparison of Gold, Silver, and Platinum morality…
The Oatmeal of Shame (A Parable)
That isn’t meant as an excuse, or any sort of justification for how I reacted. I’m just trying to give you some context, to help you understand what happened, and what it might mean. These are the raw ingredients; what you make of them is up to you. Kind of like oatmeal itself.
Click [Read More] to experience what may well be the silliest parable you’ll ever read. Even if it was ‘just’ a dream — and one God used to clarify my life purpose.
Graphical Theology: The Grace Cycle
As a follow-on to “Grace in the Gap“, I’ve cleaned up and reposted another Graphic Theology piece known as “The Grace Cycle.”
The Grace Cycle attempts to capture the idea that there is a single dynamic — represented by three inter-woven rings — which drives the main processes of the Christian life:* salvation* community* ministry* maturity
Click [Read more] to see a thumbnail, and instructions on how to “build-your-own.”
Graphical Theology: Grace in the Gap
I recently figured out how to open some of my old ‘Graphical Theology’ diagrams from the mid-1990′s. These were part of what I called The Grace Project — an attempt to update and build on the reformation-era teachings about ‘Guilt-Grace-Gratitude’ as the basis of the Christian life.
Today’s posting, entitled “Grace in the Gap”, came up recently in a discussion about spiritual maturity with my friend John McClements, so I figured I’d colorize it first. It also maps directly onto my song GraceFather, making it doubly relevant.
Click [Read More] to see the thumbnail, or download the PDF document.
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About Me
Physicist. Hacker. Marketer. Transformational Christian.
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