Blaze of straw pretends to be the moon

When I saw this 13th century poem, it reminded me of what so many clergy abuse survivors have encountered among Baptist leaders: Words of religion used as bait for abuse; words of religion used as a cover-up for abuse; words of religion used as a rationalization for doing nothing about abuse. We have encountered up-close “those who destroy… by using sacred symbols in their talk.”

We wait while Southern Baptist leaders persist in their pretending. And we watch the farce of how they love their image while sitting in “deep mud.”

But sooner or later, spring will arrive. When it does, it will bring a new kind of “justice” -- a “justice” as natural and true as whatever causes fire to “lighten and rise.”

And with that spring justice will come a new way of being -- a way not bound by the old confining constraints but instead, a way that removes restraint.

May you all find freedom in your souls. Happy New Year.

Green Writ
by Rumi, with translation by Coleman Barks

From behind a thin cloth
a blaze of straw pretends to be the moon.

There are those who destroy soul growth
by using sacred symbols in their talk.

When you fall in love with clothing,
it is like you ride a donkey
into deep mud and sit there.

Even a dog sniffs greasy bread before eating.
Have you ever seen lions
fighting over a piece of bread?
Why are you drawn to a beautiful corpse?

You are a continuous question about soul.
When the answer comes in,
the question changes,

the way a kindness in grape juice
turns it into wine, the way you
were born into this life.

Fire lightens and rises.
You bow when you hear truth.

Fall thieves the garden barren.
Then a spring justice knocks on the door.

You read the green writ
removing all restraint.