Losing My Religion

I shouldn’t be surprised.
History is full of examples of people of genuine conviction
Starting movements with the best of intentions
That begin to collapse under the weight of their own power
After long years removed from the source of their mission.
Even the biblical story of God’s relationship with humanity
Moves in cycles of renewal, rebellion, remonstration, and revival.
Sometimes even our most beloved institutions and symbols
Move beyond the possibility of renovation and restoration,
Leaving us no choice but to tear them down.

I shouldn’t take it personally.
Even with all the pain of the last few years
I honestly believe that most of the people I know and love
Advocating for ideals I believe to be monstrous
Are earnestly trying to do what they feel is right,
Hoping for the brightest possible future for themselves
And the people they love,
Scared by how quickly the world is changing.
Worried about the legacy they’ll leave behind
If the world leaves them behind.

But, I am deeply bereaved.
Dismayed by the hate I see all around me
For the people who don’t fit into
A white nationalistic fundamentalist vision
Of an America where flags are wrapped in bibles,
Guns are engraved with Scriptures,
And all our empty idols of Patriotism and Consumption
Drown out the still, small voice of a God
Who loves all the people we’d rather hate.
Christ told us not to worry, but my anxiety
Is ringing doomsday klaxons in my brain 24/7,
And my depression has me so weighed down
That putting one foot in front of the other
Feels like a Herculean task.

I should feel right at home not feeling at home in this world.
Scripture tells us that we are wanderers in a strange land;
That this world is not our home.
Jesus never rejected the God the Pharisees claimed:
He called him Father and endeavored to show them
A more excellent way.
To bind up the wounded, heal the brokenhearted,
And announce the kingdom beholden to no powers or nation
Where all are welcome and God reigns in love.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Clobbered

God said humans were created in his image, male and female. Does that image fade away when we love the "wrong" people? You call marriage a sacred institution,  But you support politicians with multiple divorces or proven infidelity.  You look into the face of your fellow human beings Refusing to see God reflected there,  Robbing your neighbors of their dignity for the sake of your piety.  But there are no whitewashed tombs in sight on the moral high ground.  God destroyed the city of Sodom.  The moral culpability of the Sodomites Has been so inexorably tied to same sex intercourse The terms are literally synonymous.  Ironically, the real sin of Sodom was a lack of hospitality,  Threatening violence and shame against their fellow human beings: The very thing you do to the LGBTQ+ community In the name of a God whose heart breaks over our hate masquerading as mercy.  You call them abominations,  Desperate to cast the first stone at your nei...
Read more

Billionaires

Fists clenched tight around their hoards While the masses wait for the excess to trickle down. Instead they build bigger storehouses, Lining the pockets of the ones who prop them up By robbing Peter and Paul to pay Herod. Some are still convinced they deserve it all While the chasm between us grows wider and wider. They offer up poor Lazarus as a sacrifice For daring to look too longingly at the rich man's table. So many woes and cares; God save the billionaires! Holding the weight of the hopes and dreams Of those foolish enough to believe someday they might be like them, Refusing to believe they have a right to say What other people ought to do with their money While the rich continue to shape policies That dole out an abundance of subsidies And tax breaks to line their own pockets, Slashing the pittance reserved For the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner in our midst. "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
Read more

Hypocrite

I talk to people all day long About finding meaning in the midst of chaos.  How to untangle the twists and turns of circumstance And find some hope in the meaning There beneath the surface.  But I've forgotten how to hope for myself.  I've lost the breadcrumbs leading the way back,  Or else I've given them all away to others.  It all feels so hollow and empty.  I can't even muster any outrage.  I just rattle around this fucking husk of an existence, Wondering if maybe someday Things will turn out the way you said they would.  When are you going to punish the wicked? Because all I see is those fuckers thriving.  When are you going to rescue the needy? Kids in cages, starving behind blockades, Immigrants harassed by hateful howler monkeys In bright red hats.  But the worst of all is how hard it is  To keep caring when my brain Just wants to coast on autopilot.  I don't have the energy to keep being outraged.  I don't have th...
Read more