Turning

After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them. Although he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him. This was to fulfil the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah:
‘Lord, who has believed our message,
   and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’
And so they could not believe, because Isaiah also said,
‘He has blinded their eyes
   and hardened their heart,
so that they might not look with their eyes,
   and understand with their heart and turn—
   and I would heal them.’
Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke about him. Nevertheless many, even of the authorities, believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human glory more than the glory that comes from God.  John 12:36b-43

Turning

Oh how we love our hating

our bitter hardened hearts

love to pour our hearts out

weeping as the anger builds.

Oh how we love human glory

the attention and accolades

we seek to be loved best

we want to act above it all.

There is no bullet ever fired

that has turned a heart to love

there is no violence that begets

a burgeoning of hopefulness.

Oh if we but lived for others

if we turned our hearts for love

if we but spoke a hopeful word

if we but lent a warm kind hand.

May our hate be washed away
like messages in the summer sand
may we take down the mean walls
and turn our hearts to love again.