The echoes resound in the chamber immense

Hewn in the Misty Mountains depths.

Its floor, a lake of waters unknown

The darkness of ages reflects.

             And the azure presence of the penumbral light

            Whispers fears of a forgotten tale.

A beam of reluctant light reveals

An isle in the sombre lagoon.

A sinister, creepy, despondent silhouette

Outlined in the twilight of gloom.

            And the dire cry of a creature in pain

           Awakens the bowels of ancient Mount Doom.

“My precious! My precious!” the echo goes forth,

The hesitant air, unwilling to flow.

It travels through fears, and omens and thoughts

Of beings long hoping the ring’d be lost.

             And the buried legends of forgotten pasts

            Revive by the desperate cry of the voice.

Two yellow eyes the darknes disturb

Piercing the space with daggers of greed.

A sudden suspicion has come to his mind:

“It was nasty hobbit who took our gift.”

          And the new hobbit bearer, treading into light

          Begins the long journey of Sauron’s demise.

                                                                                                                                   (2010 ) Erica Yanina Luján

Yesterday was a very important day in my church. I had prayed that God would bring to them the same message that three years ago changed my life forever: that what God loves most of all is his own glory and he does everything for his glory. Shocking as it sounds in a human context where selfishness is seen as a vice and unselfishness as a virtue, from the heavenly and eternal reality, the truth remains that God loves himself most of all because he is the only Holy one, and therefore, the most worthy of love and praise and honor and glory. This truth is above all truths and it rules everything in existence. If it wasn’t so, God would be defcient and we we would be lost. The most precious gift that God can give us is himself and his own glory. The proof that God loves us so deeply is shown in his giving us highest gift he could ever give to save us: himself. If he gave us houses, cars, riches, boats, planes, companies, but witheld himself from us, he would not be loving us. At the same time, the worst judgement and the worst calamity that can befall humanity is not an earthquake, a flood,  famine, disease, but God witholding himself from us. We all fell in idolatry, we all valued the created things more than the creator and worshiped them by putting them in the first place in our lives. What we deserve God hiding his glory but his grace is so great and so immense that he does not. And the sun rises every morning as a small sample of everything great and deep that he does for us day by day through his grace .

I first heard this message from pastor John Piper, but last night, the same was given in my church, in almost exactly the same words as John Piper uses,  to my sudden surprise and joy. I thank God for the wonderful and specifc way in which he answered my prayer.

We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,

who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

The coming of Jesus displayed before our eyes the magnificent revelation of God’s plan, and the treasures of his Kingdom. Through him we can know what the teachings of the Old Testament mean, and how they are significant in our lives. At the beginning of history God gave to his chosen people commandments and symbols which were glimpses into his eternal plan of salvation. A symbol pressuposes the existance of a real element associated with it.  The symbols in the Old Testament are never random, and they were not meant to remain as abstract, unrevealed concepts. They are thoughtful, insightful representations of heavenly realities and they were manifested when the Word became flesh. Here is what I have found so far about the symbols of the Old Testament and the real things that they were meant to represent. Suggestions and comments are so very welcome.

                                                                                                                                                                                      2009 Erica Yanina Luján

On a deeper layer, this poem represents the encounter with the infinite wisdom of Christ, when our eyes are opened and we are able to see his majesty and enjoy his delights in an ever increasing, everlasting way. I hope you enjoy it.

Rivendell

A torrent overflows -the knowledge of the ages-,

An incessant rain of wisdom sublime;

It runs through eternal vale and forest

Making triviality drown and die.

Ephemeral thoughts have no part

In contemplation of the mountains high;

Lore dwells forever in the heart whose eyes

Behold the glory of the Imladris land.

In the multitude of pine trees deeply rooted

The abundance of knowledge is reflected,

Its complex ways are seen connected

By winding paths and watchful bridges.

And beheld from above the landscape renders

A perfect pattern, cunningly interwoven,

Retold and described in voices ancient

By the inland murmur of the water flowing.

In the valley of Rivendell immemorial

No empty sound or sight ever rises;

The bird that sings, the wind that howls

Have meanings deep and wonderful.

The flowers speak of secrets priceless,

About hidden treasures of old,

Which only years of contemplation

Will lead the mortal to unfold.

     Whoever gathered all this wisdom

     In book, or parchment or scroll?

     Perhaps it’s meant to flow forever

     And be ever rising like the dawn.

     And when the roamer, unaware,

     Is stunned, amazed by its glow,

     Great joy is born, a new beginning,

     That heart has found an endless trove.

                                                                                  2009  Erica Yanina Luján

May he use my experience to bless other people’s lives.