Monday, August 29, 2011

If another member of the church sins against you

Matthew 18:15


The words are dry;

a disturbing distance removed

from the Teacher’s incandescent call

to follow and to share

in the captivating work of the kingdom.

They read backwards as if viewed

in a cloudy mirror, from the time

when discipleship’s spark has been forgotten

and God’s good people have settled

for something less.

Something less radical,

something less disturbing,

something less compelling,

something less fearful.

The unremembered Way has been displaced

by a lesser one with the modest aim

of ensuring that God’s good people

observe polite constraints and live together

without coming to blows too often.

These words are a sad concession,

unworthy of being placed upon the lips

of one who lived tingling life

spoke aching truth and loved

without the merest thought of compromise.

He whose words were filled with freedom’s hope

always had the right story

to stop such nonsense

before it became embarrassing.

© Ken Rookes

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