The Grace To Be Annoying: calling REAL Christians
Today we ask the Holy Spirit to give us the grace to be annoying… Pope Francis
It is time for prophets to cajole
annoy
comfortable complacent contentious
It is time for prophets to protest
misuse
position power wealth
It is time for prophets to pray
for courage to write
grace to annoy
It is time to rescue Christianity
from godless fringes
criticize partisan power
protect the oppressed
demand leaders live justly
antisemitic
anti-Muslim
pro-violence
hate mongering
lie spreading
life threatening
corruption propagating
fear fostering persons
are not REAL Christian
“ (God) has told you, O (hu)man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)
“Thus says the LORD, ‘Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.’” (Jeremiah 22:3)
These are the words that inform
the unparalleled prophet of peace
healer
harbinger of hope
Jesus
embodiment of the Way
Real Christian
If you do not embrace embody express
moral imperatives
modeled by Jesus
you may call yourself a nationalist
possessed by self interest
obcessed with the exclusion of others
but you may not call yourself
Christian
Real Christians renounce
forces of wickedness
powers of the world that corrupt and destroy
inordinate desires that kill loving kindness
Real Christians strive
for justice and peace
respect the dignity
of every human being
If you do not embrace embody express
moral imperatives
modeled by Jesus
you may call yourself a nationalist
possessed by self interest
obcessed with the exclusion of others
but you may not call yourself
Christian
Poem by Debra Asis
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Pope Francis’ quote is found in today’s selection in An Ignatian Book of Days by James Martin, SJ, a series of daily reflections from the Spiritual Wisdom of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Throughout the book we hear the voices of St. Ignatius as well as many great thinkers and writers, long gone and present day, each uniquely revealing the way of finding God in all things. And that is my intention; to find God/Divine Presence/Ultimate Reality in whatever presents itself to me each day in 2024.
Each day I read, reflect and write on the selection, hoping to articulate the ways in which I come to know God/Divine Presence/Ultimate Reality via personal experience, impelled by the leading of my inner life.
INVITATION
Would you like to join me? The book is accessible on Amazon. Let me know in the comments to this post and sign up to get an email whenever I post. I would love to read your reflections too, public or private messages welcome!
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https://www.debraasis.org
All words are generated by grace and the grit of a real human being,
Debra Asis writing challenge
