we come together

jonny baker put me on to the site: takebackthepoetry.com. There is some great stuff there. I like this poem about why we gather as the church.

We come together

because things are not right
because we don’t know what to make of the world
because we are bewildered
because we need shelter

We come together

because peace has not come
because your kingdom is a long time coming
because your will is hardly clear
and yet brutally clear
because we are threatened on all sides
because we have lost our way

We come together

because we notice the gap
between who we know we are
and who we want to be
and we feel giddy on its edge

We come together

because Jesus said, Come to me and I will give you rest
I will give you living water for your soul
I am the bread of life
because Jesus turned on the crowds
and had compassion on them
that wanted to be fed

We come together

to set the stage
to act as if it might be true
that we are loved
to love each other
to treat each other fairly
to see each other for who we really are
to allow others to see who we really are
with no shame and no fear

for we are all unequal
we are all disabled
we are all addicted
we are all dying

We come to pretend

that what we dream for tomorrow is true for today
that we live in a strange kingdom
where nobody is standard
nobody is predictable
nobody is average
nobody is unacceptable
nobody is judged
and nobody is judging themselves

where advertising does not standardise our dreams*
where our view is only filtered through God’s eyes

where instead of punishing each other for our own failings
we act with justice
love with mercy
and walk humbly with each other
and with our God

*nicked this phrase from Rowan Williams