Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” -Matthew 28:10

In response to our new Presiding Bishop’s call to evangelism, the Acts8 Blogforce has posed the following question: “Where is your Galilee?” Where is it that Christ can be found? Where does Christ still need to be proclaimed?

Rather than write a traditional blog post, my response is the poem below:

My Galilee

I have gone to the shores of Our Lord’s Galilee,

and stood beside the sea.

I have gone to the towns where Jesus preached

to set the captives free.

I have heard the command of the risen Lord,

telling his disciples to “Go.”

I have seen the remains and walked the green fields,

where the Good News first started to grow.

 

But that Galilee is not my Galilee,

though equally I have been sent,

to go into the world and proclaim the Lord’s story

to preach of his death, resurrection, ascent.

 

My Galilee has looked a bit different:

it hasn’t been fancy, exciting or new.

My Galilee has been in the shadows

in the places where people thought God was through.

 

My Galilee is in the valley of death,

with a man who is breathing his last;

holding out grace of forgiveness and life,

when all of the suffering has past.

 

My Galilee is in burying a child,

beaten by unloving hands,

and standing beside a cold, unmarked grave

mourning where no family stands.

 

My Galilee is with the aged and infirm,

locked up, confused and ignored

Listening and laughing and singing old songs

and finding life’s meaning restored.

 

My Galilee is the emergency room,

soaked with the blood of the slain

with the survivors and loved-ones and medical staff,

faced with life’s greatest pain.

 

My Galilee is the poor urban church,

kept alive by the faith of the few

the overlooked gem, without press or praise

that does not pretend to be trendy or new.

 

My Galilee is the affluent suburb,

with commuters and families and such

that chase after jobs or possessions or wealth

and still find their lives lacking much.

 

My Galilee isn’t one place or one people,

it isn’t one class or one race

it is preaching the Good News to all of God’s people,

My Galilee is in every face.