Grace Period

A found poem taken from my notes on the sermon of my pastor, Dr. William Shiell, of First Baptist Church of Knoxville, TN. The sermon was preached on April 15, 2012.

Grace.
Belief in action,
Take care of the least of these,
Poor, downtrodden, lost . . .
World turned upside-down-
Gather together to take care of their own.
Even the pagan would
Take care of widows and orphans,
Farmers brought itheir extras.
Jews were the best at taking care.
How would the Christians measure up?
Demonstrate koinonia,
Grace?

When they gathered there was power,
Spiritual power.
They would lay their offerings at the apostles' feet
Trusting them to distribute it fairly.
Barnabbas
Son of Encouragement
Sold some family land
And brought it to the apostles
To share-
Resurrection redistribution,
The power that still turns our lives
Upside-down with
Grace.

Today we take care of our own
And everyone else's, too.
We care for the least of these-
Share and care.
Beulah Wright
A woman who shared
Zero interest loans
So the downtrodden wouldn't be evicted.
Grace.

Working poor can't afford to buy groceries
Go to pawn shops,
Gold stores,
Check-cashing stores, where
Predatory lenders
Threaten to eat them up.
Payday loans
Thirteen days, no interest-
Grace.

Teach them skills
To manage their lives
Take care of those who cannot take care of themselves
Grace.

As we see the bread pass,
We watch God's gifts multiply.
His grace flows.
Prayer
Scripture
Sharing food
Like after a funeral,
We remember
And tell the stories,
Like at a wedding feast,
The cake is all for you.
Celebration.
We share
All around the room
God's grace flows
We pass the bread
Receive the cup.
We share
Grace.