Witnessing Like John - Poem by Raymond A. Foss

Witnessing to the light, to the love of God
the coming of the Christ, the coming of the new day
witnessing to that which we know, to what we see
sharing our faith, our love, our testimony,
grounded in that which we experience
in the life we have lived, in that which we have shared
This day, thinking, praying, hoping for that day
the day that he preached of, dreamed of,
knowing, at least in part, some of what yet must be done
of the minds, the hearts, the laws, the beliefs
that must be changed, to stand up and witness, to testify
to go into the breach, when need be, to stand for justice
to follow the example of our brother
to follow the lead of our savior, showing love
even to those, while he was yet on the cross
to show mercy, compassion, forgiveness
to call to God for his grace
even to those who nailed him to a cross
to stand for him that only saw the mountaintop
to pray for the ones leading the people
into the promised land, to walk with our brothers,
our sisters, our neighbors, to lighten their days

January 19, 2009
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
watching his “I have a dream” speech with my family;
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