Woes

Jesus said, "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

"Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.' You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred? And you say, 'Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the oath.' How blind you are! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; and whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it; and whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean." Matthew 23:13-26 

Woes

Burdening those who are already bent

scaring those who are already crying

returning a clear plea with a blank stare

the hard of heart think they conquer the world.

Management and proper administration

taking precedence over hungry children

order and presentation  become the way

and the heart is cut out from our lives.

When we box ourselves in and gloat

when we believe our cruelty justified

when we smile at are own accomplishments

then true blessings disappear into vapor.

Our present woes are our own making

we have forged them with want and greed

we have stepped over too many bodies

and thought we had come away clean.

The Divine invites us to take a walk

to look and listen to our needy world

to get our hands dirty, to hold the dying

to live with justice, mercy and faith.