there You are

Then he looked up at his disciples and said:

Blessed are…    

                                                                                                 Luke 6:20

there You are                                                                                     Erling Shultz, February 2019

there You are:

          down there,

               alongside them,

                    on Your knees;

     there with the evicted and afflicted,

              with the seeking and reeking,

     there with the nots of the world

there You are:    

          down there,

               side by side,

                    at their level;

     touching the losers and lost,

                    the shamed and sinned,

     touching the wounded and refused

there You are,

          down there

     then You look up,

          at me;

               who stands and watches,

                    comfortable and correct

     You look up at me;

          with eyes that hope and seem to say,

               ‘you just gonna stand there?’

     You look up at me;

          to invite me to participate,

               “these are who I value”

               “these are who belong”

               “these are your people”

there You are,

          down there on Your knees;

     You look up at me

     I look down to You,

               and offer my excuse:

          ‘I’m there for You,

                    but the Body is hemorrhaging,

               I’ve got to slow the losing flow

                    of members and cash,

                    of youth and sages,

                    of doctrine and privilege;

               as soon as I fix You,

                    I can get to them.’

 

there You are:

          still down there,

               yet alongside,

                    there on Your knees;

     there with the hurting and broken,

              with the hungry and thirsty,

     there with the excluded and forgotten

there You are

     looking up at me;

          “these are who I value”

          “these are who belong”

          “these are….Your people”