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Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox 

 By Gianluigi Gugliermetto

1/29/2025

Yesterday, we published a poem that truly gushed out of me on Sunday morning. I don’t think of myself as a poet. Yet the disturbing image of the blood of two young people poured out in such a violent and absurd way was working in my mind, and the urge to write about it grew in me, and finally I felt moved to put ink on paper. The whole experience was a veritable example of Creation Spirituality, transitioning from Via Negativa (the awful facts) through the Via Creativa (the poem) and reaching the Via Transformativa (the feeling that their blood/sap is now inside me/us). 

The poem that we publish today by permission of its author, Minneapolis artist and chaplain Matt Moberg*, addresses the same topic, with the beginning image of “bleeding in the streets” and consisting of a strong wake-up call to the Christian churches.

Outdoor memorial altar for Alex Pretti, Minneapolis. Photo by Chad Davis, on Flickr.

Even though I refer to Jesus and his cross in my poem, I have no confidence that such a radical call to the sleeping churches can have any effect.

Rather, I see these beautiful verses as an expression of betrayal. The feelings of betrayal of someone who belongs deeply to a society that calls itself “Christian” yet betrays the most fundamental human and Christian values.

The intertwining of Christianity and empire has reached its apex in the USA of the 20th century. We are living through the most violent consequences of such enormity. What will the future hold for the message of Jesus? 

Local police arrest clergy members protesting against ICE at a Minnesota airport. @Reuters

If you’re a church posting
prayers for peace and unity today
while my city bleeds in the street,
miss me with that softness you only wear
when it costs you nothing.

Don’t dress avoidance up as holiness.

Don’t call silence “peacemaking.”

Don’t light a candle and think it substitutes
for showing up.

Tonight an ICE agent took a photo of me
next to my car,
looked me in the eye and told me,
“We’ll be seeing you soon.”

Not metaphor.
Not hyperbole.
A threat dressed up in
a badge and a paycheck.

Peace isn’t what you ask for
when the boot is already
on someone’s neck.
Peace is what the powerful ask for
when they don’t want to be interrupted.

Unity isn’t neutral.
Unity that refuses to name violence
is just loyalty to the ones holding the weapons.

Stop using scripture like chloroform.
Stop calling your fear “wisdom.”
Stop pretending Jesus was crucified
because he preached good vibes
and personal growth.

David Easterwood: pastor of Cities Church, Minneapolis, and undisclosed ICE Acting Field Office Director, St. Paul. Photos from C-Span and the Cities Church website.

You don’t get to quote scripture
like a lullaby
while injustice stays wide awake.

You don’t get to ask God to
“heal the land”
if you won’t even look at the wound.

There is a kind of peace
that only exists
because it refuses to tell the truth.

“No one should comply with an immoral law.” Mural of Monseñor Oscar Romero. Photo by Franco Folini is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

That peace is a lie.
And lies don’t grow
anything worth saving.

The scriptures you love weren’t
written to keep things calm.
They were written to set things right.

And sometimes the most faithful thing
you can do is stop praying around the pain
and start standing inside it.

If that makes you uncomfortable – good.

Growth always is.

*Original post from Matt Moberg’s Instagram account.

Banner Image: “Love [the stranger among you] as thyself.” A clergywoman carries a quote from Leviticus at a Minneapolis protest. Photo by Lorie Shaull on Flickr.

Queries for Contemplation

Where do you encounter the use of Scripture as chloroform, what is your reaction? Is your reaction helpful? Do you want to change it? 

Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, or read other comments and enter into dialogue, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field.

Related Reading by Matthew Fox

A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice

The Tao of Thomas Aquinas: Fierce Wisdom for Hard Times

Prayer: A Radical Response to Life

Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth

Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality

Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation

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