Isaiah Chapter 1 in 2025
Since the people aren’t listening anymore,
God is screaming into the void ‘til the ground resonates
With the thunder of divine displeasure,
Begging them to bear witness to his grievance.
He brought children into this world,
Did his best to teach them right from wrong,
But they’ve rejected him.
Bulls know who supplies the feed
And donkeys know where they sleep at night,
But my herd of jackasses have forgotten;
My people are too bull-headed to know me.
Sinful nation, waving your stars and stripes,
Weighed down by the iniquity of institutional racism,
Systematically dismantling even what little you’ve done to help the poor.
Cheating and swindling, lying and grabbing,
You have forgotten what the Lord has asked of you.
You've spit in the face of The Christ who came with mercy for all.
You are so far gone yet convinced you are in the right.
Why are you still trying to do things ways they’ve never worked?
Why are you still trying to suck up to billionaires who’ve never cared about you?
The mind of your country is as diseased as its heart,
Acting like you’re strong as you struggle to breathe.
From the tips of its toes to the top of its head,
America is unsound.
Greedy consumption leaks from oozing wounds,
Blood caked on your hands from enemies and neighbors,
Infections undrained, sepsis setting in,
No medication effective enough to heal.
Your slums are a desolation,
Your cities teeming with homeless and the working poor,
Unable to afford housing, the price of food skyrocketing,
While your leaders let the rich and powerful devour you.
Lady Liberty stands naked,
Her dress pawned off to pay the bills,
And Blind Justice’s scales are unbalanced by golden calves.
The ones in control have turned you against each other,
Convincing you that it’s what I want.
Hear the word of the Lord,
You who trample on showing hospitality to strangers!
Listen to the teaching of our God,
You who would rape the foreigners, widows, and orphans!
Your religious grandiosity is anathema to me.
Your meaningless words are a din in my ears.
I never asked you to turn your love for me
Into an empty parade of pageantry and fluff.
When you talk to your Creator,
Who asked you to behave this way?
Keep your churches;
I’m rarely there anyway.
Worship yourselves, but don’t think I’m involved.
Sing your hymns and hold your prayer breakfasts,
But your sins keep me out of your hearts and minds.
I hate the meaningless noise of your invocations.
Your self-aggrandization has become
A burden too heavy for my shoulders to bear.
Lift your hands; I’ll close my eyes.
Pray your prayers; I’ll be elsewhere.
I’m done listening to what you have to say
Until you wash the blood off your hands:
The blood of widows and orphans,
People of color and women,
Suicidal gay and trans teens
Who would rather die than face
The hate of your “love.”
Clean up your act;
Clean up your hearts;
Quit grinding the poor into dust
And start treating the powerless with dignity.
Learn to do good for the other.
Seek justice for someone besides yourself.
Gather those on the margins into the center,
And show them their worth as people.
It’s never too late to do the right thing
And turn back towards God.
Tear down the idol of Christian Nationalism.
Slaughter the fatted calf of Laissez-Faire Capitalism.
God’s salvation and mercy are still available
To all who call on his name,
But they require a contrite heart and a willing spirit.
Come, share in your Father’s kingdom.
But, if you refuse?
Continue down your chosen path?
It can only end in destruction.
God is screaming into the void ‘til the ground resonates
With the thunder of divine displeasure,
Begging them to bear witness to his grievance.
He brought children into this world,
Did his best to teach them right from wrong,
But they’ve rejected him.
Bulls know who supplies the feed
And donkeys know where they sleep at night,
But my herd of jackasses have forgotten;
My people are too bull-headed to know me.
Sinful nation, waving your stars and stripes,
Weighed down by the iniquity of institutional racism,
Systematically dismantling even what little you’ve done to help the poor.
Cheating and swindling, lying and grabbing,
You have forgotten what the Lord has asked of you.
You've spit in the face of The Christ who came with mercy for all.
You are so far gone yet convinced you are in the right.
Why are you still trying to do things ways they’ve never worked?
Why are you still trying to suck up to billionaires who’ve never cared about you?
The mind of your country is as diseased as its heart,
Acting like you’re strong as you struggle to breathe.
From the tips of its toes to the top of its head,
America is unsound.
Greedy consumption leaks from oozing wounds,
Blood caked on your hands from enemies and neighbors,
Infections undrained, sepsis setting in,
No medication effective enough to heal.
Your slums are a desolation,
Your cities teeming with homeless and the working poor,
Unable to afford housing, the price of food skyrocketing,
While your leaders let the rich and powerful devour you.
Lady Liberty stands naked,
Her dress pawned off to pay the bills,
And Blind Justice’s scales are unbalanced by golden calves.
The ones in control have turned you against each other,
Convincing you that it’s what I want.
Hear the word of the Lord,
You who trample on showing hospitality to strangers!
Listen to the teaching of our God,
You who would rape the foreigners, widows, and orphans!
Your religious grandiosity is anathema to me.
Your meaningless words are a din in my ears.
I never asked you to turn your love for me
Into an empty parade of pageantry and fluff.
When you talk to your Creator,
Who asked you to behave this way?
Keep your churches;
I’m rarely there anyway.
Worship yourselves, but don’t think I’m involved.
Sing your hymns and hold your prayer breakfasts,
But your sins keep me out of your hearts and minds.
I hate the meaningless noise of your invocations.
Your self-aggrandization has become
A burden too heavy for my shoulders to bear.
Lift your hands; I’ll close my eyes.
Pray your prayers; I’ll be elsewhere.
I’m done listening to what you have to say
Until you wash the blood off your hands:
The blood of widows and orphans,
People of color and women,
Suicidal gay and trans teens
Who would rather die than face
The hate of your “love.”
Clean up your act;
Clean up your hearts;
Quit grinding the poor into dust
And start treating the powerless with dignity.
Learn to do good for the other.
Seek justice for someone besides yourself.
Gather those on the margins into the center,
And show them their worth as people.
It’s never too late to do the right thing
And turn back towards God.
Tear down the idol of Christian Nationalism.
Slaughter the fatted calf of Laissez-Faire Capitalism.
God’s salvation and mercy are still available
To all who call on his name,
But they require a contrite heart and a willing spirit.
Come, share in your Father’s kingdom.
But, if you refuse?
Continue down your chosen path?
It can only end in destruction.
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