One Body
put off falsehood, speak truthfully to your neighbor, for We are all members of one body.
broken bodies,
spent bodies,
bodies weak with sheer exhaustion,
this, the altar of capitalism requires.
this, We require.
this is my body, broken for you.
bones,
hip, thigh, arm, finger,
scattered across a barren desert
so industrialization requires.
so We require.
son of man, can these bones live?
the blood of generations,
sisters, daughters, nieces, aunts,
spilled across
this land of promise, of plenty.
this nation of abundance.
as greed, habit and excess demand.
as We demand.
this cup is the new covenant in my blood, do this in remembrance of me.
a national state of necessary ignorance
tears We refuse to see
pain We will not own.
so We exist.
so our neighbors die.
put off falsehood, speak truthfully to your neighbor, for We are all members of one body.
4,500 Questions for Those Who are Left
Eat this bread, drink this cup.
Come to me and never be hungry.
Eat this bread, drink this cup.
Trust in me and you will not thirst.
--- Brother Jacques Berthier
Who will be left to sing these songs of praise?
…in what you so ignorantly call your “sanctuary”
Who will be left to drink?
…other than those who take the cup out of habit, safe in their ignorant complacency
Who will be left to eat?
….besides the few whose bellies are already gorged, full of their own excesses
We are your people.
Close your hymnals and look. See us.
Would you have the audacity to praise—with ignorant lips and idle hands—
if you had noticed our 4,500 bodies?
Would you continue to pray to your white, wealthy, Father God—assured of your suburban salvation—
if you faced the weight of over 9,000 cracked and bleeding lips?
Does your “bread of life” look different, your “cup of salvation” appear tainted,
through the lens of our 9,000 hallow, haunted eyes?
Could you gather for your church potluck, your Bible study, your Wednesday youth group
if you stumbled over all 927,000 of our unnamed, unknown bones?
We are your people.
Close your hymnals and look. SEE us.
Who will be left to sing these songs of praise?
…those who call themselves children of God
as God’s children die.
Who will be left to drink?
…those with such emptiness
that they cannot be filled.
Who will be left to eat?
…those whose blissful ignorance allows them rest
despite our still bodies and silent lips.
4,500 deaths.
We are your people.
Close your hymnals and look. SEE US.
A Series: Psalms in Dialogue
Psalm 63
On the Lips of a Migrant
O God, you are my God, I seek you…
One foot behind the other, step after step, the journey begins.
…my soul thirsts for you;
my soul, my mouth, my tongue, my lips, parched in a barren land.
my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Emptiness, only emptiness: empty sky, empty stomachs, hallow tears that cannot fall.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
I have looked, but I cannot find you. Only hunger, only pain…
Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
Cracked and bleeding, they cannot form the words…
So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
There is no energy for praise…days pass and still nothing…
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
…my last step…the last shoe print I will leave…
when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
This desert catches me as I fall.
for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
I am alone.
My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
A soul is all that remains…flesh scorched, hands calloused…a heap of bones in this desert.
But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth;
Unidentified—I have no name.
they shall be given over to the power of the sword, they shall be prey for jackals.
My bones picked clean…I return to the Earth.
But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
Silence. Night falls. Bones scattered across a hot and dusty land. There will be no exultation.
The dead do not rejoice.
Psalm 63
An Activist’s Cry
O God, you are my God, I seek you…
I look for your justice in an unjust place.
…my soul thirsts for you;
For your love, your mercy, your goodness.
my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
offering water…there is never enough. Never enough.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
it is hard to see you at times…to look past this pain.
Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
I am faithful, but there is doubt.
So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
I call on your name, serve you as I bandage weary feet and bleeding hands.
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
Parched lips drink quickly from the offering I extend.
when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
Candles lit, placed at the foot of four wooden crosses in Sasabe.
for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
Remembering those lost to this place.
My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
A pile of bones
But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth;
Clothing scattered
they shall be given over to the power of the sword, they shall be prey for jackals.
“unknown” scrawled across stark white paper, beneath it a sacred candle burns. It burns as we mourn
But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
Countless deaths. I am but one. How can I exult you?
The dead do not rejoice.
Psalm 63
A Student’s Questions
O God, you are my God, I seek you…
I study you in air conditioned rooms, sun lit buildings. I am safe.
…my soul thirsts for you;
I have sought you in these hallowed halls.
my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Gorged with abundance we speak of those who have nothing.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
They are but an echo, a fleeting thought. We worship our God of plenty.
Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
I am loved by you.
So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
I am blessed by you.
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
Confronted with those who have nothing, hungry bellies, starving eyes—my praise is suddenly strained.
when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
Where are you within these needless deaths?
for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
I cannot sing when backpacks adorn trees
My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
Children’s shoes, torn t-shirts, a woman’s bra, strewn across a barbed wire fence.
But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth;
remnants of those who surrendered themselves.
they shall be given over to the power of the sword, they shall be prey for jackals.
unknown, unnamed, unwitnessed.
But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
I am not the same. This classroom no longer confines my frustration. I will not rejoice. I will not stop asking questions.
The dead do not rejoice.
Psalm 63
A New Hope: There will be Rejoicing
O God, you are my God, I seek you…
in the sadness, my desperation.
…my soul thirsts for you;
you are a God of the hopeless.
my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Lord of the distraught.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
Offering power for the powerless.
Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
your love sustains me
So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
I praise you for this restlessness, for this desperate need….
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
to make this injustice known.
when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
surely you are here
for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
in this passion for justice. this commitment to seek change.
My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
you are in my unrest.
But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth;
my life will witness to the beauty of your people.
they shall be given over to the power of the sword, they shall be prey for jackals.
you desire so much more.
But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
I will praise this uneasiness, bless this discomfort, I will walk where they have walked. In you, I will rejoice. For the dead—for their memory, their lives, that they will not die in vain—I will rejoice.
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