it's easy to see ourselves
in some of the stories Jesus tells,
God of Parables.

The Good Samaritan -
now, that's a role we could
play in your divine drama;

and we are always eager
to see ourselves as the parent
who runs down the road
to embrace the returning child.

But a dirty, homeless beggar
who depends on the scraps
from a table;

a rich person
who fails to see
the hungry at the doorstep?

no, thank you,
we'll just stand on the sideline
and listen to those stories.

after all,
we can't be that poor,
or that uncaring . . .

can we?

Amen.

(c) 2005 Thom M. Shuman
(see the story of Lazarus and
the rich man in Luke 16:19-31)