Vox Christi

His tones are Ray and Christian’s when he sings;
In Steve his bold authority I hear;
He talks like Matt when he our Supper brings;
Wes blesses with his reverential fear;
He queries us with Kaleb’s booming grin,
Then answers back in Jesse’s servant-joy;
Mckayla’s is his plea to turn from sin;
His confidence in God’s professed with Chloe;
José’s and Mary’s lips his comforts sound;
His wisdom calls in Carla’s and in Shae’s;
In Austin, Christian, Brad, his insight’s found;
I’m sure he prays with us when Justin prays—
Though none of us has ever seen the Lord,
We know our Shepherd's voice; it is his Word.

—8/20/26


Bible Study. Sherman, TX. 2026.

I do my best not to explain what I write; I have a rule that a text must speak for itself. I’ll break it here, as I am unsure whether my intent is crystal clear. I suppose you could read this as capitulation to the inadequacy of my powers. Certainly it feels a bit like that. But I am not able to polish this further than I already have, I think.

Anyway, the idea of this sonnet is that we hear Christ insofar as we minister his Word to each other. I hope that came through. I probably spent more time on the last two lines—two months, off and on again—than the rest combined. It is a riff on the Justin Peters quote that “If you want to hear from God, read your Bible. If you want to hear him audibly, read it out loud.” I hope it makes sense.

I love this photo so much. Last Christmas, my folks got me a spiral-bound ESV journalling Bible which is my prized possession. If my house burns down and I only get to grab one thing, it is this. And here it is in what does not look like but nevertheless is a holy space. Here is where I meet the Lord daily (or try to), at a little folding table facing a beige wall in a nondescript house in the shabbier end of town. It does not look like much, but there is glory here. Facing the beige wall, the Lord speaks to me (via his Word, remember the sonnet), and turning left, facing the window (which frames a sycamore tree through which the rising sun and several squirrels play) I speak to the Lord in prayer. It is secretly glorious. Are the streets of heaven gold because of the rock in them, or the Lord on them?

Which brings me back to the original point. Christ speaks in us as we attend to his Word, speaks through us as we proclaim it, speaks by us as we embody it in life. Look very carefully at the Church as you live in fellowship with its members, as I hope you do. It is not mere people. It is the body of Christ himself.

P.S. I hope it goes without saying, but there are a million other folks I wish I could have included!

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Originally posted on Substack.