Ann Weems, beloved Presbyterian poet, penned this in honor of the No2Torture initiative. It is so true. What the hell happened?
No2Torture!
What happened that the world doesn’t know
what the church stands for?
What happened? What happened? What happened?
What have we in the church been doing
when we should have been voicing,
should have been making clear
who we are......
who Jesus is????
Has it come to this?
That we in the church must say,
must shout,
must stand
for what we believe?
Does the world no longer know us
by our fruits?
Do we have to have a discussion,
to inform the world that the Church says
No2 Torture?
Is there any doubt that
The Church of Jesus Christ
does not condone torture?
Any question,
any room for discussion?
What happened to
The Church of Jesus Christ?
Jesus who said,
“Love your neighbor as you love yourself”?
Jesus who said,
“Do unto others as you would have
them do unto you”?
What happened?
Who is it who came along and
changed the Word of God?
There is no room for
torture in the words of Jesus.
He did not say:
Return evil for evil.
He did not say:
Hit back.
He said, Turn the other cheek.
He said, Love your enemies.
He said, Follow me.
The world should have heard us
shouting good news from the roof tops,
singing Alleuluias in the streets of the world!
The world should have seen us
praying for our enemies.
The world should have seen us
following the Prince of Peace.
Oh, God, may they see us now!
Oh, God, may they hear us now!
No2Torture!!!!
- Ann Weems
May 4, 2007
1 comment:
you know she helped raise me? what a great photo of her, the elegant lady she is. thanks for posting this.
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