Prophecy is the voice that God has lent to the silent
agony, a voice to the plundered poor, to the profaned riches of the world
Rabbi
Abraham Joshua Heschel
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The world screams
The not-so-silent cry of a plundered planet
The wild rants of the rich and powerful
Shrouding silent screams of loneliness and fear
The soft sobbing of the abused, cowering
The whispered fear of children, wondering if today a
shooter will come
The anguished pleas of the immigrant caught on razor wire
The desperate and angry words of the person caught in
poverty and injustice
We hear them
The suffering ones
But we do not hear the silent agony of the soul
That deep rending pain
That can only be hinted at
Dropped into the world half-formed
We too are often left speechless
We watch as evil people lie and manipulate
Belittle and bully
We hear fear disguised as patriotism
and prejudice portrayed as justice
We are overwhelmed by the hunger, the empty eyes,
Stunned by the bodies filling the doorways, sidewalks and
underpasses
Because there is no room in the inn
But we cannot be silent
We must speak with
We must speak for
We must join our voice with others
And we must be the voice when all others are silent
We must respond to the silent agony
Hearing the words in the silence
Hearing the pain hidden in the hate-filled rants
The loneliness caught in the throat
The hopelessness unuttered
We must be a voice
Saying “This stops here”
“That is not the truth”
“There is hope”
“You are forgiven”
“You are loved”
Prophets all
We are called to proclaim God
To proclaim love
We are called to speak truth
And we are called to change the world
To claim and reclaim
To restore and transform
The arc of history may bend toward justice
Toward equity
Toward love
But only if we help bend it
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