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this is the house
the house of our Lord
where all men shall be welcome
where all men shall be welcome to come
and rejoice in the Light
to learn of the Word
to take of the flesh of the Son
and the spirit of the Ghost
where all men are shall be welcome
to take shelter
from the rain and the snow
which must fall into each man’s life

this is the house
in which the feast of the Lord
is laid
so that you might take it up
and become whole and full
become one with another
see beyond the darkened skies
to that day
when He will take you unto Him
if given of the flesh
and of the spirit
of His law …

thus spoke this man
in his robes and gowns
from his pulpit
upon the raised dais
looking down upon those
who sat before him
raising sleepy-eyed faces
to his word …

on this day of the
resurrection
you have come to hear
the spirit of the stone rolled away
from the sepulchre
of Christ’s meeting with Mary
how each in turn shunned the word
not believing
until He appeared

so that they might touch and hear
and so believe
that they would go out
into the world
into all the houses of man
to teach in their way
the Lord’s way
how they might come unto Him
but through them
and through the Son
and thus to the house
of the Lord …

thus he spoke
in his gilt raiment’s
from his ornamented place
to those in plainer comfort
who sat and listened
and heard
or did not hear

while amongst them moved
one man in from the street
decrepit
fallow of skin and bent of
body
and the odour of drink

amongst them he moved
while they who listened
drew back in disgust
and averted their eyes

while they who heard
whispered to themselves
the blasphemy
of such a thing

while he
in their presence
bent in the garment of the
poor and homeless
circuited in his journey
three times
the house of the Lord

then was turned out
into the thunder and the rain
and the fog of the day
that they might return
to the worship of
their Lord

on this Easter morn’
the three of April
the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and
eighty-eight

Amen

Vern Silver
03 April 1988

.

Hi Vern - Thanks for posting an Easter poem, nice to see at this time of year. Very effective.
~~~
Mina - Urban Camper

That's a beautiful poem to read on Palm Sunday, Vern. It would be fitting to find it in your church program on Easter Sunday. Might that happen? It speaks well to the sad hypocrisy I've seen.


~ Lizzy

I do like the truth contained in this poem, and I have seen this happen on occasion when once I was in a Church of a friend.

To this, add this quote from the Bible.

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' (Matthew 25:37-40)

Just to give a little history on how the poem came about. I work as a correctional officer for the provincial government here in ontario. At the time I wrote the poem I worked at what would be considered a city jail by many, but was actually a regional provincial jail.

We had regular 'customers' ie the street people who would regulalry get picked up off the streets and spend time with us. One particular fellow, an older native american who had the nickname of 'Cambodia Joe' in our community is the subject in this poem. I don't know how he got the nickname.

Anyway, on that easter day in 1988, I was working an afternoon shift. An older woman who I worked with and who considered herrself a 'christian' and was not afraid to share her beliefs with you related this story to a group of us during a break.

This Cambodia Joe had wandered into her church - John Wesley United Church of Canada in Thunder Bay - at the height of their easter morning service and began to wander around asking for money. This particular day was a bad one with severe thunderstorms. She saw him and turned her face away so that he might not recognize her. Others in the church did much the same, pulling back from this man as he approached them. Eventually, the usher approached this man and threw him out of the church. In the tone with which she related this story you could hear the disgust. I commented to her on how christian they had all been on the morning of the holiest day in the christain calendar. Of course this angered her.

I then sat down and wrote that poem and it flowed out as you read it in one go. I posted it later that evening in our staff break room. She was not pleased.

Anunita - it was juut that quote from the bible that was the underlying drive to write the poem, although at the time I did not know where it was from but only remembered the basics of it from my old sunday school days. When I shared this poem with a coworker where I now work, and who wears his christianity on his sleave, he shared that same quote with me when I tried to tell him the underlying inspiration for it.

Vern

Vern - I don't have much to add, but I just wanted to let you know that I was moved by your poem from many years ago. Thank you for sharing it, it is special.

John

This is absolutely brilliant. That's all I can say. Absolutely.

.

Very good points to add, Minna.

Really insightful poem Vern.

I often wonder about so called believers far too often they just give lip service to compassion and the so called charity shops who would prosecute a homeless person who tries to “steal” clothing or other items from their shops even though those shops are open in the name of charity and their stock is all donated.

I do often think “there but for the grace of God go I” even though I don’t actually believe in God. But certainly there but for the grace of someone go I.