We in the church are in danger
of becoming a tearless people,
unable to rage even in a starless abyss.
We have imitated a smiling society,
glossing over the hurt, the oppression,
the peacelessness on earth,
or we have become caustic
and cynical and despairing,
insisting on looking the other way
as our church members crawl to the altar,
the scraps of their lives in their arms.
We were created for covenant keeping
and yet, we are in danger
of becoming a blindhearted people,
buying into the system,
placing our hope with kings and corporations.
Have we not seen?
Have we not heard?
We persist in clinging
to the way things are,
or eagerly placing our faith
in the newest religious fad,
the latest book on how-to Christianity
(in ten easy steps),
or the current slogans
presented as though they were
the Word of God.
We are programming and papering ourselves
into perpetuity,
and rationalizing and excusing
our immortality.
We spend our energy in complaining,
gloomily forecasting our future together.
We panic for positions
in employment and committee,
with each special interest group
vying for first place in the kingdom.
Perhaps it’s time for remembering
that Jesus stood in the Jordan
to be baptized with the others,
long ago casting his lot,
not with the good church people,
but with the poor
wherever that poverty might emerge.
His name is Emmanuel,
and yet, individually and corporately,
we have named him “GOD-WITH-ME.”
Have we not seen?
Have we not heard?
In the light of the cross,
the alternative is anything but hopelessness.
On the contrary!
There is every scriptural indication
that we are called to change
who we are into the kingdom of God.
Where change is possible,
new resurrections loom!
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