canticle 82

Glancing around the dinner table,
God asks, once again,
"How long will you keep messing up?
Why do you keep siding with injustice
and do the bidding of the cruel?
Justice is the gift you offer
to the forgotten, the vulnerable;
speak out, and stand up
for the ones ignored by the powerful.
Release the grip of the hateful
on children and families, and
welcome them into your hearts."
Although we have all sorts
of degrees on our walls, we
are dumber than dirt itself.
God reminds us, "You are not me,
and time is running out on
your arrogant grasping for holiness."
Come, O Lord,
with justice and mercy
for every corner of life.

(c) 2019 Thom M. Shuman