Dear People of Christ Church,

Lee, our parish administrator, and I have been folding and stuffing envelopes with materials for stewardship all day (somehow those things always come under the wire, no matter how much we try to prepare for them!)...so this week I'm sharing a poem with you I found in my files. It's by the medieval Persian poet Hāfez, also known as

Khwāja Shamsu d-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī. Hāfez is a pen name, which is also a word that means that someone has committed the Qu'ran to memory, which he is said to have done as a child. He died around 1389. It seems fitting to the theme of stewardship-if we only really realized how much God has given us, how easy would it be to return to God a portion of our riches?

Blessings,

Sara+



So Many Gifts
Hāfez
Trans. Daniel Ladinsky



There are so many gifts
Still unopened from your birthday,
There are so many hand-crafted presents
That have been sent to you by God.

The Beloved does not mind repeating,
"Everything I have is also yours."

Please forgive Hafiz and the Friend
If we break into a sweet laughter
When your heart complains of being thirsty
When ages ago
Every cell in your soul
Capsized forever
Into this infinite golden sea.

Indeed,
A lover's pain is like holding one's breath
Too long
In the middle of a vital performance,

In the middle of one of Creation's favorite
Songs.

Indeed, a lover's pain is this sleeping,
This sleeping,
When God just rolled over and gave you
Such a big good-morning kiss!

There are so many gifts, my dear,
Still unopened from your birthday.

O, there are so many hand-crafted presents
That have been sent to your life
From God.