See.
Behold,
a spotlight narrows -
follow its beam.
Look what it illumines:
see how the story
moves on,
unscrolling through
millennia
to reveal
the masterpiece.
Watch my re-
creation unfold,
the universe ignites
and blossoms into new
and glorious forms.
Your delight will
overshadow and dwarf
your present pain -
it will melt away
like morning mist
evaporating under
a blissful sun.
So look forward
and celebrate the coming
joy now.
You can sing in the surety
of a place of belonging,
of being warm
and well-fed.
No sorrow will touch you
and laughter
will echo,
drowning out the grief
of a child and father
face down in the river.
My dear ones
will know the peace
of welcoming embraces
and purposeful hours;
when they speak
I will listen,
we will all walk together
again in the golden
garden.
Can you not see it?
Can you taste it?
In the meantime -
this dusty in-between time -
work for and mirror
what will be.
Restoration is possible
in the here and now
and bits of Eden
will light the path
home.
Whet appetites
with your passion
for justice,
your compassion and
selfless struggle for
the creation
of Shalom
in the now.
Picture it.
Disillusioned.
Mismatched expectations
versus
reality.
A gray miasma lingers,
infiltrating
door sills,
obscuring hope.
A light flickers
in Nazareth -
I am here,
he says -
look where
my coming
was predicted.
Focus your eyes
on me,
see how I sacrifice
my power -
I lay it down
and
die for you.
Watch how I live
to see how I treat
the other,
how I wrestle
the darkness
seeing hope spring
from spark
into flame
as I heal the bruised,
forgive digressions
and bind up
the damaged.
Lift up your eyes;
you too can do this
through me.
I am still active
in the world.
Look at me
and not the gray
miasma.
Look at me.
This is not a business transaction
between you and I.
I will do what I will do
and you will respond;
it should flow from you
like a rising song.
Yet you whine and stamp
your foot
when you've met the bare
minimum requirement -
fasting -
while despising immigrants
and the needy.
You have missed out on my heart
in the interest
of going through the motions.
What's the point?
Don't come to me
with empty rituals
and petty rules,
measuring out piety
in tenths and not a penny more,
while your heart
remains unchanged.
If you love me,
you will respond
by loving the broken,,
by freeing the prisoners,
by giving your possessions
to those in need.
You will no longer
let ugliness spew forth
from your lips in my name,
judging and sneering
at others whose lifestyles
or skin color
you despise.
You will take action
to stop the degradation of
any of my creations.
You will deny yourself
to give to others,
not to impress me with your
holy dedication.
You will look into the
runny eyes of the homeless
and destitute,
past their toothless, whiskered
faces and see
souls that I love dearly.
Then, then
will you worship me
in word and in deed
and you will see
the uprising of hope,
the breaking forth of life
and light
to heal and comfort
the lost.
Then will your path
be clear
and I will walk it
with you,
and fight for you.
I will lift you up
and nourish you,
watching you blossom
in a profusion
of lavish colors;
the barren tree
will again bear fruit
to feed
and restore
the earth.
