Shalom Poem

SHALOM

Shalom to you
Shalom for us
For you and me and we and everyone

Together we yearn
Together we groan
Together we cry

Together we search
Together we sweat
Together we pray

For SHALOM
For an end to bloodshed
For things to be made right again
A revolution of love
For salvation –reconciliation – redemption - transformation

So in anticipation we walk
On the journey
To love, peace, friendship, safety, salvation, goodness and wholeness

To be healed in our hearts, minds, souls and bodies
To be made new in our families, schools and neighborhoods

We believe in a Kingdom best explained by beautiful stories
And we believe in this Rabbi/Storyteller/Messiah/Savior/God
Who is the Prince of Peace
The Prince of Shalom

So would you follow Him?
Take a walk with Him?
Jump into the rabbit hole of something more

Leaving behind the worry and fear
Taking steps towards justice, mercy and love

Would you open your eyes to the bad and the good
Following the gentle nudge of the Spirit that you cannot ignore for one more second

And dream with me
And hope with me
And love with me

Love with your heart and your hands and your feet and your life

So do that thing you’ve only dreamed about…

Tell her you’re sorry before it’s too late
Tell him you love him and you’ll try
Sell it and give the money away
Ask for help with your addiction
Spend more time with your family
See that counselor
Invite your neighbors over for dinner
Move into that neighborhood
Open your doors to the outsider
Welcome the lonely
Forgive the insult
Turn the other cheek
Walk the extra mile
Visit the hospital and the prison
Find your enemy and give him a hug

Trust

Trust that the words of your Savior are worth following
Trust that He knew what He was talking about
Trust that your Father is still at work in the world
Trust that the Kingdom of God is at hand
Trust that the walls really can be rebuilt
Trust that we can be His hands and feet
Trust that in losing your life you will find it
Trust that you’ll receive a hundred times more
Trust that being last is being first

We can be the conduits of peace
The messengers of love
The proclaimers of grace
The advocates for Shalom
Because HE – IS – WITH - US

I Dream

As I walk along these city streets I dream
Of a Kingdom come
His will be done
Laying down our weapons
Casting aside our hatred
Along with our ambivalence

All Creation knowing and realizing
The HOPE that was promised long ago

We dream, we hope, we trust
That somehow we can be
The advocates of love
The conduits of peace
The messengers of grace

We know that a force beyond comprehension
Can take root inside of us
And transform us into a new humanity
We yearn for the focus, the discipline, the sacrifice
To become one with this good force

To feel the flow of a Spirit
Guiding our hearts, minds, hands and feet

Let us be the people we were made to be
Present in every moment
Aware of your presence
Awakening to our true purposes

I dream that this dream would be realized
That this way would be inhabited in the real world
Your Kingdom come, Your will be done
On earth as it is in Heaven

Would Jesus spam?

Thanks to NextGener.AsianChurch for introducing me to this poem. It may be a bit trite but it's still amusing and makes me think...

Did Jesus use the Internet at the Sermon on the Mount?
Did He ever try spam e-mail to send His message out?

Did the apostle Paul use powerful memory and the latest version?
Were his letters posted on a bulletin board with his email, Paul@rome.com?
When he left Macedonia send a text message asking “Is it OK to go?”

Did Moses use a game controller to part the Sea?
Or use a Satellite Guidance Tracking System to show him where to go?
Did he write the Ten Commandments by hand,
or were they archived on CD?

Did Jesus really die for us one day upon a tree?
Or was it just a hologram,
or computer trickery?
Can you download the video?

If in your life, the voice of God is sometimes hard to hear…
with other voices calling, if His doesn’t touch your ear…
Then put down your laptop, Internet, -and all your fancy gear-
And return to simplicity
-and then God will draw near.