Slouching Towards Oblivion

Showing posts with label spirit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spirit. Show all posts

Saturday, July 31, 2021

We Go On

From the first human handprint on a cave wall
Or a picture on someone's phone
We're part of something continuous
Something that will proceed without us
But there will always be something of us left behind
For the next ones to find
We don't just die and decay
We don't just dissolve back into the clay
We go on


Sunday, February 07, 2016

Sunday-Go-To-Meetin'

On Friday's podcast, Blue Gal did a Bible Bitch segment - generally too rare an occurrence IMO.  I'm pretty god-hostile, but she always gives me something interesting and useful.  Anyway, it centered around this Depression-era Methodist hymn:

O Young And Fearless Prophet --S Ralph Harlow, 1931

O young and fearless Prophet of ancient Galilee,

Thy life is still a summons to serve humanity;
To make our thoughts and actions less prone to please the crowd,
To stand with humble courage for truth with hearts uncowed.

We marvel at the purpose that held Thee to Thy course
While ever on the hilltop before Thee loomed the cross;
Thy steadfast face set forward where love and duty shone,
While we betray so quickly and leave Thee there alone.

O help us stand unswerving against war’s bloody way,
Where hate and lust and falsehood hold back Christ’s holy sway;
Forbid false love of country that blinds us to His call,
Who lifts above the nations the unity of all.

Stir up in us a protest against our greed for wealth,
While others starve and hunger and plead for work and health;
Where homes with little children cry out for lack of bread,
Who live their years sore burdened beneath a gloomy dread.

Create in us the splendor that dawns when hearts are kind,
That knows not race nor station as boundaries of the mind;
That learns to value beauty, in heart, or brain, or soul,
And longs to bind God’s children into one perfect whole.

O young and fearless Prophet, we need Thy presence here,
Amid our pride and glory to see Thy face appear;
Once more to hear Thy challenge above our noisy day,
Again to lead us forward along God’s holy way.

And here's the podcast:



Friday, October 19, 2012

Prayers

Remember this one?  
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Yeah - uhm - fuck that.  Try this one instead:
May God bless us with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that we may live from deep within our hearts.
May God bless us with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of God's creations
So that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless us with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,
So that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless us with just enough foolishness
To believe that we can make a difference in the world,
So that we can do what others claim cannot be done:
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and all our neighbors who are poor.
Amen, muthahfuckah.

hat tip = The Professional Left podcast, episode 150