A Lawyerly Question - Poem by Raymond A. Foss

It always seems, wherever I turn
we are the bad guys, the ones in the way
the ones asking Him questions, pressing for
the new law, testing the assertions,
learning the edges, the words,
“Who is our neighbor”, a logical question
Hardly worth casting aspersions over.
It was just the definition of the term of art,
the nuanced word thrown by Him into the mix
a new test of faith, of living the law of Moses,
of living the good life, the life well blessed
earning passage from Sheol, beyond the grave
the end of their days. It wasn’t a test so much
as a questioning for knowledge, learning what
He meant by the two commandments, replacing
the older ten and the laws, regulations, rules
for life, layer on layer, parsed and teased,
as they are still. Rabbinical interpretation,
the lawyers, the scribes, just doing their best
to live the life of a religious man
asking to know, the bargain, the balance,
the other side of the equation
words to live by, words of power

November 18, 2006 22:28
Luke 10:35-37

Copyright by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage.