Resist

What's the sight, by TV's light taken in

A man mocking the meek, criminalizing the weak, building a wall to keep the rest in

I remember well a wall that fell, uniting a land

I remember a square, a tank met by a bold stare

youth's voices paired with justice's demands

Now back to your regular scheduled programming

programmed, coded minds, blind to a budget damning the poor the people of color,

all of creation crying for clean air to breathe, enough affordable education to leave.

But the church chimes in, "hey, what about us" "no one can make us move to the back of the bus"

And I don't know what story you've been buying

You aren't in the back of the bus, you've been driving

driving, digging your heels in the ground this way

you're just about to find out you're digging your own grave.

Your idols of certainty and control have taken hold to resurrect an idol of gold

but this fire's too hot, you can't control what's not yours

Can't buy it in your Family Christian Bookstore

You can't earn it by believing the "right" thing, the songs you sing

or kissing the ring of a Pope or a Pastor

A man can only serve one master

Yet, the disaster of our meetings may be averted

before every pew in our flashy temples is deserted.

You've been called to join in, confess your sin, right the wreck

What you believe is what you do, not just facts to be checked.

You participate by joining the fight of resistance to political might

Resist the powers and principalities of this age, with outrage

not raging against the helpless refugee who's underage

Be angered that inner city schools have no books

not the money for healthcare assistance "they" took.

Let your blood boil red, for the innocent dead, from bombs gone astray

not from laws that cause you to bake cakes for "the gays".

Misguided anger is the danger for the church

Woe to you who stew in agitation as you search for an opinion that makes you out as victim

Woe to you who knew those boys in blue were wrong

but your hidden opinion of "the black man" changed your song

Resist the power, resist this hour, your urge for more

Resist the urge to settle the score

The wall's coming down again, not even built but lives in the hearts of men

Tear down the wall, step outside, you may find the god you hide deep within

is without a doubt, outside too, with all of those you fought to keep out.