My inner Pharisee

After Luke 15

I often talk with

my inner Pharisee.

I like to pretend

he’s not there, really,

but something happens,

always, to remind me

that he’s alive and well.

I avert my face from the beggar;

my inner Pharisee smiles.

I avoid that area of town;

he chuckles.

I ignore the poor

and sick; he laughs out loud.

My inner Pharisee is always

there, telling me he’s my friend,

when I know he’s not. But

he has a nice smile.

Photograph by Ahmed Zid via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Salt, sheep, coin, son

After Luke 15

We must be salt,

salt with taste,

salt that’s used.

We must seek

the lost sheep, not

the 99 unlost. 

We must search

for the lost coin, not

the coin unlost.

We must celebrate

the lost son returning, not

the one who never left.

The measure is

different for men.

Once, we need to be salted.

Once, we were s sheep, lost.

Once, we were a coin, missing.

One, we were a son, prodigal.

Photograph by Andrew Neel via Unsplash. Used with permission.