Epiphany 4

A reflection on the readings for Epiphany 4 by The Rev. Crystal Karr who is exhausted from tending to a dying parishioner - and when exhausted she thinks in poetic phrases instead of full sentences (prayers Crystal)....

Once upon a time
Woman was cast out for being uppity, sassy
and making a scene.
You can’t simply declare that we should listen to you!
You can’t stand and scream
“respect my authoritaaay!”
as though you were a cartoon!
No, no authority has been given to you
Woman.

Book learnin’ that’s what you need
book learnin’ and cajones.
A room of one’s own
to read, write, reflect.
Logic and reason, book smarts.

It’s not what you do
raising a child, preparing a poultice,
of mud and spit.
Sacrifices are nothing
because neither are you.

Then one day a man
came to town.
He spoke and the people were in awe.
They said he spoke with authority.
Book learnin’ suddenly lost
its appeal,
casting out demons, healing, serving
loving the outcasts, touching the lepers
this man turned things upside down.

But only for a little while.
Those men in charge, educated men
whose lives were spent eating sleeping interpreting books
became tired of his intuition, his words of love
of mutuality.

The bastard had the audacity to speak with Woman,
to touch her, and to claim to be
God’s son, the demons cry out when they see him,
do they know him, because he is one of them as well?

These were the whispers that betrayed him.
And yet
centuries later
Different sets of whispers began to shimmer in the wind
whispers of a man named Jesus,
whispers of mutuality
whispers of intuition
whispers of strength through relationship
whispers of a different authority
even fainter lighter whispers
of women
of respect
of cooperation
of care for the least
of liberation
but still
just whispers that ride on the wind.