Subj : [CHRISTIA] new poetry, "Nor Bathed, Nor Washed" To : Practical Christian Life From : Mark Date : Sun Jun 14 2020 12:57:45 From: lamppoet@CENTURYTEL.NET (Mark) We do lots of things entirely unrelated to the most important commandment.and the second. "Nor Bathed, Nor Washed" ("This is the first and most important commandment." Matthew 22:38) Wetness never surrendered our sins, nor bathed, nor washed them. A chanted prayer or babbled tongue never broke the ceiling, revealed the spoken faces or reassigned the thirsty graces to the needy-not-us. A whirling grandchild is not the Spirit's toy, divine words are not playthings to conjure a win or a raise, hide my sin or drop the haze upon my exposure. The best for me and the slight for you, the blessing upon my brow while it must be the cursed who cannot pay the rent or who have tsunamis sent to wake the dead. I love my religion, my old songs, sawdust and drum kits all within the hearing of the hungry who do not know how to clean their houses or their children, who swipe their paper-thin soles upon the newly-laid carpet. (Will you sit here, closer to the door, and maybe we won't have to replace quite as much flooring.) I'm the worst, I've just rehearsed my compassion. Loving up and loving down, embracing light, enwrapping sound, carousels of words, morsels of moments we hope will please the deity we've become. Oh holy and glory, all truth and only All who leaves no space vacant in Your Fullness; who leaves no heart empty in Your With-ness; let my witness be, my reality the elite thrones torn down and shattered, replaced by a simple and slightly tattered shirt from the back of my closet that I wear when I visit my closest friends. Close, mark p. lamppoet@centurytel.net Mark's Blog (to be removed from the list, simply reply with the request: "Please remove". God's best!) For subscription information, visit To leave the list, send the command UNSUB CHRISTIA to LISTSERV@LISTS.ASU.EDU --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .