Friday, January 11, 2008

Christians and Pagans

Here is a poem I ran across again. I thought you might enjoy it. It was written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and published in his Letters and Papers from Prison. This short poem touches me in a special way.

Men go to God when they are sore bestead,
Pray to him for succour, for his peace, for bread,
For mercy for them sick, sinning, or dead;
All men do so, Christian and unbelieving.

Men go to God when he is sore bestead,
Find him poor and scorned, without shelter or bread,
Whelmed under weight of the wicked, the weak, the dead;
Christians stand by God in his hour of grieving.

God goes to every man when sore bestead,
Feeds body and spirit with his bread;
For Christians, pagans alike he hangs dead,
And both alike forgiving.

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