I am perfectly content
to rest pious
in my righteousness.

I am perfectly content
to pray scathingly
for all those unwashed “them.”

I am perfectly content
to draw the narrow line
between the I and thou.

I am perfectly content
to forgive my little stumbles
and condemn everyone else’s.

I am perfectly content:
so don’t send me,
you troublesome Spirit.

I am perfectly content:
until, of course, you shatter
my complacency.

Dammit.

A poem/prayer based on Acts 11:1-18, the Revised Common Lectionary first reading for Year C, Fifth Sunday of Easter.

Image is Peter’s Vision by an unknown artist, found in The Story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation by Charles Foster, published 1873. Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59771251