Love Is Loud

Love is Loud

Love, says the old covenant,

Is the spirit of this church

Love.

The spirit of our church

I hope so

Because Love has things to say

Love is joy and laughter,

giggles and silly love songs

But Love speaks, too,

to the real pain in the world

Love knows.

It knows hate and fear

Selfishness, Greed

Bullet and blade

The cutting edge of indifference

Love knows

And Love does not let us turn away

It does not rest in thoughts and prayers

Love knows the names

Says the names out loud

And will keep saying them

Until the day,

We hope against all that is holy,

Those names no longer need saying

Love is loud

Love clamors, it applauds,

it shouts down and fires up

Love calls to the margin,

and not waiting for the echo,

chases its voice to that margin,

 in song and joyful noise,

In apology for hurts caused,

shifts the center

until the margin

isn’t

Love does not suffer the suffering of others in silence

But resonates in silent space held for another’s story

…

…

Love is the spirit of this church

if we choose it, give it voice.

And if we make that choice,

then in the noise,

in the raucous joy and wailing pain,

Righteous rage

in the resonating silence,

in the cacophony of beautiful voices and possibilities,

through all that holy racket,

Love will guide us.