Faux

Deliver us, O Lord,

from the slick veneer of religion

that needs to fabricate

disdain from others in order

to validate a narrowly

constructed dogma of exclusion.

Deliver us, O Lord,

from the false practices

that elevate self and its homies

at the expense of "other" and "different".

Deliver us instead, O Lord,

to a broad, mill-sawn bench

filled with knots and imperfections;

a pew that has been worn smooth

by years of squirming doubters

who refuse to grasp anything that

will not make room for a congregation

prepared for all weather,

oiled by conversations welling-up

from the deeps of daily life;

to a faith that withstands the storms,

instead of hiding from them;

a self that recognizes and embraces

the divine spark that flashes regularly

in the eyes of all creation.

© 2013 Todd Jenkins