Dear Good Samaritans,

I came across this poem last week and I haven’t been able to get it off my mind. It was written by Jay Hulme. Jay is a transgender poet, speaker, and theologian who has a special interest in queer rights. This particular poem is titled Christianity for Heathens. It is a creed of sorts, a statement of belief that tries to distill Christianity down to its core. And, in doing so makes it easily understood by all people—both for those inside and outside the church. I must say, he does an incredible job doing that! The poem speaks such important truths, especially in the current climate of our country right now.

A transgender voice proclaims: love everyone; love yourself; love the world; love justice, kindness, and truth. I can think of few voices that we need to hear from more.

i.
Love everyone as if everyone is holy,
as if everyone’s intrinsically worthy,
as if the streets are strewn with Christ
taking naps in empty doorways.

ii.
Love yourself as if you are loved,
as if you were never an accident,
as if everything you were meant to be
waits for you to claim it.

iii.
Love the world as if it were a gift,
as if you were made as part of it,
as if you were meant to tend to it –
every inch of earth is Holy Ground.

iv.
Love justice, and kindness, and truth,
as if everything depends on it,
as if everything depends on it.
Everything depends on it.

v.
You were given a gift, and trusted.
Love it all, love it all,
love it always.

?.
Know this, if you know anything at all:
Life is no challenge, nor test;
life is love.

∞.
Reflect it back in abundance.

Peace,