Spirituality – Page 8

The city screams its longings

Oppressed by its own hang ups

Because that’s all it knows

The beat box of the back alleys pulsate

A syncopated pattern

but not quite on rhythm

Broken

The winds blow

Pops from the sweet city

While the neighborhood kids chew

Their way to the calming center

Only to lose its flavor from the mundane

Of trying to make it

The city tries to make it

Only to take from the grandmothers

And pioneers of her liberty

The city longs for a Savior

A gallant rescuer and redeemer

A lover in His divinity

But we

We come in as He

We market our campaigns and promise delivery

We offer hope in the form of blaring JBLs

And a 4o-minute oratory

We divide the city’s sections and subsections

Into an “us versus them” reality

Not realizing our reality is mere fantasy

The One who knew no sin became sin

For the sake of humanity

He moved into the neighborhood

And didn’t commute into the community

He became we

We aren’t apart from the whole

But we make ourselves out to be

It’s the difference between operating in sympathy

And moving toward empathy

We need to scream the city’s longings

We need to tap drum patterns in the back alleys of complacency

We are the broken

See,

It’s we

We are the oppressed

We are the thieves robbing from our own

We are possessed with as much idolatry

As the community we’ve seemingly disowned

In our efforts to rescue and redeem

We are the city

And we are the takers

We are the perpetrators

Preying on our fellow offsprings of God

In the name of our Savior

See,

God moved in and made himself comfortable in the most uncomfortable of all situations

He declared his Passionate love for creation at a grotesque crucifixion that rang volumes throughout the nations

But we…

Now that’s a different story

Dear Christianity,

God called last night.
He wanted me to tell you
to stop using His name in vain.
It’s insane to think that we’ve limited His love to only those who think, dress,
look and smell like us.

You know…as if there really was an “in” crowd.

And, no, it’s not about me having bad theology.
Quite honestly…
Your theology is unloving bad.
You dress insanely weird.
You look nothing like Jesus.
And let’s not talk about how you reek of tepid cheese and Slim Jims.

Ok.
I apologize for being so blunt.
Please forgive me.

But…

If Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, said in Christ God is reconciling all things…not some…ALL things to Himself…
And if John, in his first Epistle, said Jesus is the propitiation of our sins, and not our sins only,
but for the sins of the whole world…
And if Jesus Himself told the woman known to sleep around with men after men and men after men, that He doesn’t condemn her…

Then why do you?

Why do you, Christianity, constantly tell people they’re welcomed, but the moment they’re in your doors, you slap ankle bracelets on their legs just so you triangulate their location and wrangle them back?

Why?

Dear Christianity,

I see past your hypocrisy, like hipster glasses sold on clearance at Urban Outfitters.
It’s funny really.

See…

The Scriptures tell us to not be conformed to the patterns of this world and to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
Yet you expect me to conform to the doctrinal ties of a denomination.
As if Jesus really cared about how we governed our churches.

He doesn’t.

Dear Christianity,

I wish for one second that you’d listen to the cries of 36 million people trafficked in modern-day slavery.
Or the 153 million orphans abandoned daily.
Or the woman down the street, homeless because she escaped a physically abusive relationship with nowhere to run but the streets because it’s safer there.

Dear Christianity,

We’re tired of your vanity.
We’re tired of your desire to cattle prod humanity into a membership class, only to kick our asses when we miss a Sunday service…

…or two.

Dear Christianity,

God called last night.
He said He wants His church back.
He misses its innocence and its selfless compassion to sell all it has, only to give to those in need.
He misses the day lighting schemes and dressed up sanctuaries weren’t the top prioriry, but people were.
And not just people who clock in their attendance weekly.
But people in the larger community.
He misses the days when His people weren’t afraid to go outside.

Dear Christianity,

God called last night.

He wants you to come back home.

Category: Spirituality

The City

A Letter