Matthew 23:23-24
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!
Neglecting weighty matters of the law
Like seeing the divine image in every human
In those who take great risks in small boats
In those who give up everything
to find a better life for their family
In those fleeing war and violence
Or discrimination
because of their gender or sexuality or religion
And, on reaching these shores,
being herded like cattle
and housed in unsuitable accommodation
or threatened with relocation to regimes
with scant regard for human rights
Blind guides and hypocrites
who claim to act in our name
How are we to stand with the marginalised
and the oppressed
And stand against the forces of darkness
as witnesses to the light
Perpetrators of justice, mercy and faith
Finding a way to share the good news
that in the depths of darkness still
God is born.
(Liz Crumlish)
