The Voices We Will Not Hear (Reprise)

Alternate Title: 'We Are The Friends'

Previously Posted Here

Proposed Meditation: It is, in the end, all about love.

They are wrong.
They are so very wrong.
We can't hear their voice.

They call out to us - they say:
Isn't this injustice?
Isn't this torture?
Isn't this slavery?

But we can't hear.
We talk louder.
We talk about other things.
We talk about their failings;
We talk about their sin;
We talk about their error.

They sit in their ash-pits,
Covered with sin,
Covered with death,
Covered with sores,
Maligning righteousness,
Indicting the good we do,
Trying to pull us down with them.

They call out to us - they say:
Is this right?
Is this fair?
Is this justice?

But we won't hear;
Instead we talk about maintaining order,
We talk about helping others,
We talk about sharing,
We talk about becoming involved.

They moan on their death-beds accusingly,
They sigh from their cells,
Their deaths scream out to us,
Maligning righteousness,
Indicting good,
Trying to pull down God.

They call out to us - they say:
Would you want this?
Would you choose this?
Would you live this?

But we refuse to hear,
Instead we talk about precedent,
Instead we talk about independence,
Instead we talk about the needs of others,
We shift away so that they don't contaminate us.

They shuffle in their shackles frighteningly,
Occasionally they catch our eyes uncomfortably,
They abusively mention their lost children,
They truculently bring up their lost freedom,
Trying to make us feel sorry for what they deserved,
Trying to shift the argument,
Trying to unseat justice.

They call out to us - they say;
Would you do this to your friend?
Would you do this to a servant?
Do you still keep slaves?

But we won't hear;
We make up stories about them that might be true,
We talk about the rights of others,
We talk about how they cannot be trusted,

They are wrong.
They are so very wrong.
We can not hear their voice.

The Unusual Desk

In the night I pray for guidance in this interesting life I live
And I see warm brown leather
With ink drawings appearing and disappearing on it
I see the letters ‘VS’ appearing between two fragments of drawing,
And I wonder what they mean
The scene shifts and I find myself in front of a large wooden desk
In a large room that is strange to me, all done in wood of light tones
It is empty, but it feels welcoming and warm
The thought comes to me that this is like an English courtroom
But it is not much so to my eye
The desk is in the middle of the room
And there are wooden barriers like altar rails down either side
Beyond which several ranks of wooden chairs rise
Perhaps more like a room of parliament
But the dream is focused on the desk – the room is the background for the dream
The desk itself is odd
There are vertical ridges dividing it into three major sections
Making it uncomfortable to write the way I would like
With a paper at a jaunty angle
The left section is decent sized, no more than two feet wide
And the right one is very wide, over three feet wide
But the center one is narrow, too narrow for letter sized paper
To write here, you would need narrow paper
It seems that the form of what one would write here would be restricted
I opened the desk, the center section lifts and there are writing materials
A drawer as wide as the right section pulls out,
And there are disassembled bits for old ink pens,
Wooden shafts and nibs,
I start to assemble a pen and begin to look for the ink
And I wake

The Voices We Will Not Hear

Alternate Title: 'We Are The Friends'

They are wrong.
They are so very wrong.
We can't hear their voice.

They call out to us - they say:
Isn't this injustice?
Isn't this torture?
Isn't this slavery?

But we can't hear.
We talk louder.
We talk about other things.
We talk about their failings;
We talk about their sin;
We talk about their error.

They sit in their ash-pits,
Covered with sin,
Covered with death,
Covered with sores,
Maligning righteousness,
Indicting the good we do,
Trying to pull us down with them.

They call out to us - they say:
Is this right?
Is this fair?
Is this justice?

But we won't hear;
Instead we talk about maintaining order,
We talk about helping others,
We talk about sharing,
We talk about becoming involved.

They moan on their death-beds accusingly,
They sigh from their cells,
Their deaths scream out to us,
Maligning righteousness,
Indicting good,
Trying to pull down God.

They call out to us - they say:
Would you want this?
Would you choose this?
Would you live this?

But we refuse to hear,
Instead we talk about precedent,
Instead we talk about independence,
Instead we talk about the needs of others,
We shift away so that they don't contaminate us.

They shuffle in their shackles frighteningly,
Occasionally they catch our eyes uncomfortably,
They abusively mention their lost children,
They truculently bring up their lost freedom,
Trying to make us feel sorry for what they deserved,
Trying to shift the argument,
Trying to unseat justice.

They call out to us - they say;
Would you do this to your friend?
Would you do this to a servant?
Do you still keep slaves?

But we won't hear;
We make up stories about them that might be true,
We talk about the rights of others,
We talk about how they cannot be trusted,

They are wrong.
They are so very wrong.
We can not hear their voice.

After The Second Psalm

Why seek to thwart the Lord;
Or work against his will?

And plan for your own gain,
Via your neighbors ill?

Although you be a prince;
With force at your command,

You are a tiny mote
Within God's mighty hand.

The rules that God set out
Apply to one and all.

It is at your own risk
That you ignore God's call.

God's eyes they are not dim
God does not doze or sleep.

Today if you sow ill
Tomorrow ill you'll reap.

In Zion stands the king
His hand upon his sword.

The wise doubt not his will
The prudent hear his word.

Plot not harm or evil;
Don't kill or cheat or steal.

The Lord God is watching
And his wrath is real.

Ten for Life

In our dreams we oft can tell;
What from heaven, what from hell;

But in a cloud we have our days;
And oft should curse what garners praise;

Fair is foul and foul is fair;
Lies and half-truths cloud the air.

This world so fickle and so oft wrong;
Honors the glib, the fake, the strong;

Honors false over the true;
Honors words, not those who do.

If we find honors at our feet,
Perhaps we'd best be in retreat;

And seeing people raised up high;
On piles of honors, to the sky;

Hope not that they might fall this day;
But stand well clear and well away.

Tho' honor's given where it should not;
Yet we can judge by what is wrought:

And by their fruit do judge them still-
Doing wrong or naught, then find them ill.

Let God's commandments be your guide;
Mark them well -mark them inside:

Love the Lord and love your foe;
And often to your neighbors go:

And bring them gifts and help in need;
And be to them good friends indeed.

Worship not nor be obsessed
With this world; In God be blessed.

Nor worship any man-made lie.
Worship not the earth or sky;

Don't worship spirits of the air;
They cannot save nor do they care.

Don't make God's name a joke or worse,
Don't use God's name within a curse.

Do six days work, take one day rest;
Give it to heaven- you will be blest.

And let your helpers all rest too;
It is the Godly thing to do.

To your parents give your care;
See they can eat, have clothes to wear;

And give some mind to what they say;
You may be just like them someday.

Do not kill your fellow man;
But seek to save; do what you can.

Don't want or take what is not yours;
But work for that your heart adores.

And as this sin causes so much pain,
Let me emphasize again:

Take not from others save what they share;
Lest you cause them pain and care;

God will hear their suffering call;
May judge you ill, may let you fall.

And if you have ill gotten gain;
Pay it back, and twice again.

God will bless you and forgive;
And in your house the Lord will live.

Do not take another's spouse;
You'll bring a curse down on your house.

Honor your spouse, treat with great care;
Those who love you, and with them share.

Say nothing false, but what is true;
And give your lips a rest or two.

Seek out the good things you can do;
Treating others as they were you.

Keep these precepts in your heart;
If you'd be blessed, they're a good start.

Peace
LE

A God of Sacrifice

Shirley Guthrie on the one-ness of the Trinity from Christian Doctrine
Westminster/John Knox Press, Louisville

[...] The doctrine of the Trinity means that the will and action of God the Son in our behalf are not opposed to the will and action of God the Father; they are the Father's will and action. Christ does not change the attitude of God towards [sinful humanity]; Christ is the deepest expression of God's desire to be with and for us. If Jesus is the friend of sinners, then so is God. If God the Son takes the consequences of our sins on himself in self-giving, suffering love, then that is what God the Father does too.

Indeed, the self-sacrificing love of the Son is the love of God.

Hear and understand; the Lord our God is One.

Thanks be to God.

Peace,
LE

Don't cause trouble.

Don't lay upon others,
What you woldn't want to lift yourself.

Don't act like a wolf,
And then blame the sheep for being weak.

Don't rely on the law,
To dictate your morality.
(Hell already has plenty of lawyers)

Do unto others as you would have done to you.

And ask how people like to be treated,
Because not everyone is the same.

It isn't clever to be mean,
And sometimes it's mean to be clever.

True wisdom is simple, kind, and fair.
It doesn't make trouble out of trifles,
It doesn't take offense,
It strives to help and support.

Be generous, broad-shouldered, and thick skinnned... ...If God is willing to forgive everyone's sins, certainly
you can forgive some yourself.