Unless You Repent

Unless You Repent
Lent 3; Luke 13:1-9
The victims of chance or a tyrant’s decree
did not die condemned for some personal sin,
but Jesus spoke harshly to let people see
society poised on the brink could fall in.
The axe that is laid at the roots of our tree
is nuclear war that no nation could win,
abuse of Earth’s climate and ecology,
seas swimming in plastic, disordered within.
We long for reprieve, like the tree in the tale,
with gardeners ready to tend and restore.
Has hope for the future been put up for sale
by power hungry leaders still grasping for more?
The prophets cry out: “Why is urgent work left?
Repent or leave Earth and our children bereft!”
	Barbara Messner 21/03/2025