God Weeps - Holy Week Saturday

This provocative poem was recently forwarded to me by a friend. Pray for peace!

John

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God Weeps

By Shirley Erena Murray

God weeps

at love withheld,

at strength misused,

at children's innocence abused,

and till we change the way we love,

God weeps.

God bleeds

at anger's fist,

at trust betrayed,

at women battered and afraid,

and till we change the way we win,

God bleeds.

God cries

at hungry mouths,

at running sores,

at creatures dying without cause,

and till we change the way we care,

God cries.

God waits

for stones to melt,

for peace to seed,

for hearts to hold each other's need,

and till we understand the Christ,

God waits.

From the Internet --

SHIRLEY ERENA MURRAY (b. 1931) is a hymn text writer and a former editor with the New Zealand Hymnbook Trust. Her work has appeared in more than 100 collections worldwide and been translated into several languages (Taiwanese, Swedish, German, Spanish, French, Estonian, Portuguese, Korean and Braille print.) She has also worked with Dr. I-to Loh, musical ethnologist from Taiwan, in paraphrasing Asian hymns into English. ...

The themes of her hymns range from social justice, peace and human rights to the sacraments, the Church year, eco-theology, and the voice of women. ….

She is married to the Very Rev. John Stewart Murray, a former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa/New Zealand. They have three sons and six grandchildren, and live on the coast near Wellington, New Zealand.