Radical Words - Poem by Raymond A. Foss

Radical words, more than all the rest,
that sermon on the hill, the mount,
sharing with us, even to this moment,
words to transform human hearts,
to slip loose the bonds of hatred,
of division, of strife,
To answer persecution
with love, with forgiveness,
with compassion for each other
To walk as our brother walked
to humbly submit to oppression
not as an act of submission
but to show the love of our creator
one world, one people, one hope
A faith strong enough to move mountains
a certainty of the works, the grace of our father
to heal all that is broken
to bring us peace, to make us whole
A love for one another,
a prayer for love to take hold
in each heart and hamlet
across this troubled globe
to see our lives in each other
to see our hope in peace as one
To walk with our sister, our brother
to lift up, to help, to share the love of God
We walk into this future, this time of change and joy
and pray that this is the moment for all to live as one

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/