Not Words of Weakness - Poem by Raymond A. Foss

The words of the Rabbi, the teacher
the one who walked on the earth
turning the tables on the powerful,
changing the definitions, the rules to live by
turning the other cheek, lending freely,
giving the second coat, the shirt,
going the second mile, not just the first,
repaying hatred with love
words not of weakness but of power,
changing the world, from one of human values
to one governed by the love of God

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/