Dedicated and offered as a gift to a group of men bringing their light into an all-too-shadowy world.
For the ordination of newly ordained priests: Ajani Gibson (for the Archdiocese of New Orleans); and for the Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus: Thomas Bambrick; Jeffrey Dorr; Garrett Gundlach; Robert Karle; Aaron Malnick; Hung T. Nguyen; Trevor Rainwater; and Jeffrey Sullivan.
The Road to Emmaus: Luke 24: 13 -32
We knew it no longer mattered
how we stumbled
away from the gushing women
and
our brothers who were no longer ashamed
to weep
If we walked twice the seven miles to home
we would
Anything to exhaust the rage
before we were crushed
and as empty as he said he found the cave
Burning everywhere our eyes our throats
our lungs
my skin was dry enough to peel
with the merest touch
enough
What stoked this fire was fear
Neither of us noticed
or cared
to see the stranger nearly upon us
His first words startled me
reawakening the rage that had
almost
settled like ashes after the flare and flame
The confrontation took us both into a howling
threatening storm of words
Until he twisted us free
of the knots that had strangled us these last
fearful days
How could we be blind
how
could we not hear the voice that will now
forever hold us still
Our hunger shifted
from needing protective enveloping dark
into the memory of his mother
handing us bread so many nights
When he broke the bread
he brought us
from the tomb where we had cowered
And now we can do
as he had done
and will always do
give that bread to all
-- Luke
(originally published on Sankofa Muse, the blog of Fr Joseph A. Brown, SJ)
Joseph A.Brown, SJ
Joseph A. Brown, SJ, Ph.D. is a native of East St. Louis, Illinois and a Catholic priest. He currently teaches Africana studies at SIU Carbondale. He presents frequently at the Lyke Conference and is the author of "Accidental Grace" (1986), "A Retreat with Thea Bowman and Bede Abram: Leaning on the Lord" (1997), "To Stand on the Rock: Meditations on Black Catholic Identity" (1996), "Sweet, Sweet Spirit: Prayer Services in the Black Catholic Tradition" (2006), and "The Sun Whispers, Wait: New and Collected Poems" (2009).
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