Before Martin - Poem by Raymond A. Foss

Our pastor, setting the stage, the precedent,
these days, these events, our times
into their context, framing our thoughts
back to the source, the beginning
the radical words, changing our world

Explaining our hopes
in the radical words
the transforming power
the profound truths
in the teachings of Christ

On that mountainside,
in the words he shared,
setting the world right side up,
changing the rules, the order,
the human-made way of things

Seeing the world, humankind,
all of the world
as God sees the world,
all equal, all worthy
all loved by the creator, all

Loving our enemies,
seeing the good in them,
their humanity, just as our own
treating our enemies, our neighbors
as we would wish to be

Finding ourselves
in those who would hate us
finding God, within each beating heart
finding forgiveness,
as only Christ could forgive

January 18, 2009
the message, “It’s not just a dream but a reality”
on the sign in front of church,
the story of Moses and Joshua,
Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Joshua 1:1-9
and on the juxtaposition of the
80th birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
and the inauguration of Barack Obama
as President of the United States of America
along with
Micah 4:1-4
Matthew 5:43-48
the sermon, “Love Your Who???”,
by Reverend Huntley Halvorson,
Suncook United Methodist Church, Suncook, NH,
and the hypothetical put to Eric Holder, nominee for Attorney General,
by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) on the use of waterboarding,
January 15, 2009, during his Senate Confirmation Hearings,
see http://thinkprogress.org/2009/01/15/cornyn-holder-waterboard/