Forbidden Fruit

it hovers there

like the forbidden fruit

ripe, enticing, ready to be plucked

 

that which if we pluck it

will surely kill us

 

we may hesitate

for a moment

 

but then comes the lie

we hear it clearly

spoken by others

echoing within ourselves

 

the lie made only more powerful that others

even our culture

embraces it too

 

and so we grasp for the fruit

we bite and chew

we consume

 

and it, and the lie

become a part of us

 

and with each bite

the image of God is blurred

and the presences of God is diminished

 

paradise is lost

when we believe that might makes right

when we accept that the right to carry a gun

any kind of gun, anywhere,

is more important

than the right of people to live

 

we are driven (by our own agency) from the garden

when money is more important than people

when political power is more important than justice

when we deny that a person of color is equal

when we dehumanize and minimize those different from ourselves

when we seek to oppress and control

 

behind us the ground is littered

with half eaten fruit

with the bodies of those killed by our guns

with the gaunt bodies of the homeless

with the empty eyes of the poor

and the angry eyes of the oppressed

 

O Beloved

let the wind blow

scorch us with the fire of the Spirit

 

do not let us listen any more

to the lies

help us to see them for what they are

excuses for the inexcusable

 

do not let us lie to others

do not let us lie to ourselves

 

help us to hear only you

you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart

you shall love and value your neighbor

just as you love and value your self

 

this day

let us turn our guns into gardening tools

let us call all others our brothers and sisters

let us walk the way of humility and service

 

it is insanity to keep doing what we are doing

and expect something different

 

this day let us say

as Jesus did on the cross

“this stops here”