This poem is based on Mark 3:7-15 where Jesus invited a group of people to leave the crowd, go up the mountain, and become his followers. Carl Jung said that “we all walk in shoes too small for us.” I view the story from that lens. Jesus calls us to live a larger life. The painting above is titled The Crowd-The Twelve.
Put on New Shoes
Maladies of the mangled were made whole; frail and forlorn were healed. Word spread.
Then they came in droves wearing the perfume of desperation and death. Pushing and grabbing replaced civility and grace. Demons shrieked as Hell’s hold was wrecked.” Be silent, unholy ones! You have no place at my table.”
“I choose you instead,” said He. “Follow me to a place where the air is clear. Learn from me to see the un-seeable, the hidden, the disguised. Move beyond craving, clutching, and fussing. Be with Me.
Leave at lakeside your small life. Walk with me to a place higher up and deeper in. Put on new shoes and dream my dreams for you. Wrap your bones in a new name.
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