In the sixties,

he cut his teeth

on Jesus’ Sermon

on the Mount and

what it meant for

civil rights and

Viet Nam.

 

In the seventies,

he preached

social justice to

college kids,

increasingly,

more interested

in chemical

escape than

changing the

world.

 

In the eighties

and nineties,

he took the

message to

the parish

with mixed,

but hopeful,

results among

the gray heads.

 

In the two

thousands, he

wondered where

all the marching,

protesting, cajoling,

affirming and

witnessing to Jesus

had gone.

 

And now in retirement,

after his morning jog, he

sips a cup of gourmet

coffee, clicks his crowns

and recalls the adage,

“We aren’t called to

to success, just

faithfulness.”

 

In light of all the

political back-peddling,

SCOTUS,

all the racism

crawling out from

under the rocks,

all the hate

on display everyday,

he hears the voice

of Jesus, “Well

done, thou good

and

faithful servant.”

He almost could

cry in his gourmet

coffee.