On Preaching

It is not a simple task,
this thing they call preaching.
It is difficult at times
to interest,
to entertain,
to inspire,
to comfort,
to offer divine wisdom.
.
But perhaps the greatest challenge,
the heaviest burden,
is to bear the responsibility
for what so many will do with the words you say--
or what they won't.
.
If you stand before me
and say what I want--
and what I expect--
to hear,
there will be nods
and smiles,
joy and laughter.
.

But sometimes,
your words bring a challenge,
and the sacrifice--or service--
you ask of me
closes ears,
furrows brows,
and hastens departures.

.
The gospels teach love of enemy,
which is okay
if I must overlook
the fault of the one who looks like me--

but don't expect me
to call my government to account
for injustice it has perpetrated
on someone else's homeland.

.
The Torah calls for hospitality to the alien,
which is a warm
and inspiring concept--

so long as the alien doesn't try
to live in my neighbourhood,
attend school with my children,
or benefit from my tax dollars.

.
A Creator appointed caretakers,
and I am more than happy
to reap the fruit of creation's abundance,
especially if someone else
has tended that crop--

but I will only take offense
at your suggestion
that my irresponsible energy use
is polluting the environment
and causing famine
on a continent far away.

.
To house the poor
and feed the hungry,
I suggest you start a committee,
and I will give a few bucks
(if I remember)--

after all, its not as if
it is really feasible
to invite them to my table
or offer a blanket in my home.

.
And after all,
Jesus
was the perfect representation of God's will for humanity.
.
I am called to simply have faith
in God's grand design for the world

--not
to work toward
the incarnation
of that design.