Imagining ourselves enlightened
the thought of Aaron’s
Golden Calf
tends to make us laugh
but where is our
moral high ground?
Blocks and blocks
of storage lockers
line our roadways
the new cathedrals at which
we worship the coarseness
of too many possessions.
Are these not the bigger barns
the rich man in Luke conjured,
the shallow places created
to house the hollowness
of things?
Oh, Jehovah-jireh is pleased
to feed the sparrow
dress the lilies of the field
and provide
everything we need
but after all our grasping
leads us past praising God
for the good gift of himself,
the time comes to clear the shelf
lay everything
on the altar, once again
seek first the kingdom of God
cry out, Father, forgive us!
then, prostrate before him
and ask Lord, what would you
have us do
with these gifts?
Luke 12:13–21