It is like a silent killer
A toxic mist that hovers amongst us poisoning our hearts
shriveling our souls
call it fear
call it hate
it drives us from green pastures
and still waters into the valley of the shadow
where we fear evil
and feel so very alone.
crouching in the darkness
like a demented Gollum
we become malignant
we grasp at foul things
we gnaw and destroy
our hunger is insatiable and our dread unrelenting
we try to solve our torment with power
and satisfy our hunger with wealth
we grab power and abuse it
using it as a weapon against others
we reject the truth and hide behind comfortable lies
our fear-based lives are filled
with guns, banned books,
stacked courts, oppressive laws, and closed borders
and our world is littered
with the neglected poor and the excluded stranger.
with people minimized, marginalized, and denied
the planet itself cries out in pain
as it burns
in desperation, we turn to malevolent dominators
to profane saviors who promise power, wealth, and
protection
who tell us we will get tired of winning
if we only follow them
who promise to crush our enemies
fill our pockets
who promise us Empire!
but the cost is great
children dead, truth denied, people left
in poverty and hopelessness
immigrants imperiled
justice denied
equity destroyed
no person can save us
there is only Love
there is only that inner presence of a power greater than
ourselves
the secret is this
Christ in us, Love in us, the Sacred in us
we are all Sacred Children
we all carry the Sacred in us
it is there!
that love, that power, that creativity, the compassion
that created the universe
that made the sun, and moon, and stars
that made the flowers and the trees
the birds and all living creatures
it is there, inside us
and if we are awake to it
if it becomes that in which we live move and have our
being
if it permeates us
then we do not have to fear
we do not have to protect
we do not have to manipulate and control
we do not have to hate and exclude
we do not have to lie and believe in lies
we do not have to trust the untrustworthy
instead, we can be strengthened in our inner being with
power through the Spirit
we can be “rooted and grounded in love”
and we can be people who embrace the truth (and refuse to
accept the lies)
people who live with open hearts
open minds
and open hands
accepting, welcoming, giving, caring, affirming, healing
God is here
and if we trust in God, trust in that power within
God will restore our souls
and fill our cups
and lead us down the paths of goodness and mercy
God will lead us home
No comments:
Post a Comment