What Jesus Said

Opening his mouth in the delicious, arid air of Palestine,
Jesus said,

I have come to teach you that you are more than you seem,
Even more than you seem to your best self
In your most lucid visions.

I have come to destroy your way of worshipping yourselves, and
In its place to have you love one another.

I have come to destroy the piety abounding among you, and
In its place to plant the seed of true devotion, and
More than this, to show you, by living and dying,
How the seed is to be fed.

I have come to teach you that the object of devotion is the Creator, and
That the form of devotion is your service to your fellow human beings, and
To the earth, rivers, stones, trees, and animals that crawl and soar, and
I have come to teach you how you are to enter this service, with humility, and
How, in me and with me, you can live fully, die, and
Rise again.

Jim Bolner, Sr.
October 1, 1979