Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
“But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.”
—Luke 6.24
Thus says the Lord, who created you,
who set you free from slavery:
With your hands
you have received my blessings,
while with your hearts
you have turned away.
I gave you bread and you became fat;
I gave you wine and you got drunk.
You did not give thanks in generosity;
you did not share, but clung.
You used your riches to rob the poor
and your power to exploit the powerless.
Therefore for your evil I will punish you
and my wrath shall fall upon you.
I will send upon you a plague of plenty,
a pestilence of possessions
that will spawn worry and grasping among you,
and a famine of gratitude.
I will curse you with comfort and familiarity
so that you are starved for wonder,
and lay upon you a yoke of power and control
that will rob you of trust.
I will punish you with abundant processed things
and curse you with plenteous artificial things
so that you forget the earth
and the joy of knowing living beings.
I will inflict upon you good skin
so that you will look no further.
I will utterly cut you off from your sisters and brothers
with your fear of their suffering,
until you confuse terror with security.
I will send you into lonely exile
in malls and cul-de-sacs.
I will curse you with too many things to do
so that you are swallowed up in frenzy.
I will haunt you with diversity that makes you uneasy
and mysteries that you fear.
I will entangle you in the snares of ease and safety
so that you are unacquainted with death
and terrified of that which is strange.
I will imprison you behind the wall of your violence
and cast you into the fire of riches,
and the flames will burn you from inside
and you will not know why.
My people, in love I have given you everything;
in tender faithfulness I have died for you.
But now I will curse you with your desires
until they enslave you,
and punish you with everything you want
until it smothers you
and every difficulty confuses you.
Then you will cry out to me, and I will answer
you will turn to me, and I will be there.
In your letting go will you be free,
in your poverty will you be blessed:
for all that you have will be me,
and I will have you, in glory and joy—
says the Lord your God, who loves you,
the Holy One who desires you.
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
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