These days I am scanning the landscape. Looking for kindred spirits. Listening for common moral ground. Because I know it is there. Because while I believe the Irish people hold a powerful and compelling heritage of compassion and justice, they are not an anomaly. The moral values we need right now live in all of us. Albeit obscure in some.

It’s deeply gratifying to find common ground in uncommon places. For me that would include the Baptist Church. So I was delighted to receive this poem, Now The Work Of Christmas Begins, written by an African-American Baptist pastor.

When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with their flocks,
the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among the people,
to make music in the heart.

Following is the most succinct and articulate statement of my moral values.

May all beings have fresh air and water
May all beings have food to eat
May all beings share love with someone
May all beings have a home
May all beings know their true purpose
May all beings be well and happy
May all beings be free from suffering.

This All Being Metta Prayer has its roots in the Buddhist tradition. But Buddhist or Baptist, the energies of this poem and this prayer are the same. And it opens such wonderful possibility to consider the idea of Baptist bedfellows. To make music in the heart together.

Beannacht,
Judith – judith@stonefires.com