A Poem a Sunday
Epiphany IV – C
January 31,
2016
A Poem a Sunday is created to give the preacher prompts - a word, a line, a phrase - to incite one's imagination and give another angle on the appointed Gospel from the Revised Common Lectionary. Blessings on your preaching.
St. Luke 4:21-30 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
21 Then he began to say
to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 All
spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his
mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” 23 He said to
them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’
And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard
you did at Capernaum.’” 24 And he said, “Truly I tell you, no
prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown. 25 But the truth
is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was
shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the
land; 26 yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow
at Zarephath in Sidon. 27 There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of
them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard
this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29 They got
up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which
their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. 30 But
he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.
A Poem a Sunday
Epiphany IV – C
St. Luke 4:21-30
Lines
are
fine
they
can define
who
we are.
We
need our walls
our
sacred halls
to
worship and to pray.
Lines: red, white, black;
we
are told
to
color within the lines.
‘Do
not cut in line!’
It
is a sign
of
impropriety.
Lines
are meant,
to
be safely bent
creating
boundaries.
A
prophet speaks
dark
solid lines
are
blurred and streaked.
“A
foreign widow,
a
military Gentile,
and
now who will be next?
We
have our home.
We
are synagogue safe.”
The
assembly begins to groan.
“Our
own boy
defies
the lines,
our
sacred narrative.
Is
that Joe’s son,
the
crazy one?
Send
him away, let us live
within
our boundaries,
safe
and sound.
Others
we must fear.
Our
lines define
who
we are
and
when others come too near.
Line-breaker
prophet
get
out of town.
You
are no longer safe.
Your
message will bring us down
and
destroy
our
chosen race.”
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