The Consequence of Witness - Poem by Raymond A. Foss

From our vantage, our perspective,
our faith in God, our belief in the lessons of Christ
his teachings to love, not to hate,
to believe even in struggle
to live as if we believed,
even when we doubt
to strive for heaven on earth
to be like John, crying in the wilderness
to not claim to be the light,
but to witness to the light
to hold it high and let its light shine
deep, cutting through, into the darkness
On this day, I share this note, this prayer
shining a bit of light, into the remaining darkness
hoping, each beam, each shaft,
loosening a bit of the grip of life
the legacy of division,
the remaining parts of his dream
this day, especially, mindful
of the fact, we may be the only Christ
some people see, so we are called to be Christ
in all we do, to be John, to be Martin
to follow the master,
and all who have claimed his holy name

January 19, 2009
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
and 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