Though exiled from Eden and rebellious
Not willing to be my brother’s or sister’s
Keeper, even when their blood cried out
To you from earth to heaven for vengeance,
You still marked me in my banishment
Showing all that, despite my guilt,
You have loved me.

Even when I sold my brother into slavery
And famine seized all in the land
You used my sin to raise him up with power
That he might show mercy to me, a sinner,
Feeding me and filling my greatest hunger
For reunion and community, proving again
You have loved me.

Delivering me from slavery’s cruel chains,
With mighty signs and miracles, you heard
My plea and answered by calling me
To a terrible freedom, where out of fear
I erected idols in your place and longed
To return to the security of old ways and still
You have loved me.
When thirst and shame forced me
To draw water in the heat of day, you came
Offering to quench the longings of my heart
With spirit and truth. Overcome by your
Acceptance of our differences, I ran to tell
Others of your mercy, not daring to believe
You have loved me.

Along the way I anointed your feet,
Wiped your face, helped carry your cross,
Wept for your fate, listened as you cried out
Against God’s abandonment and watched
You die, and taking into my arms your body
Bruised and bloodied, I realized at last
You have loved me.

You opened my ears to hear the cry
Of the lowly, my eyes to see their suffering,
My hands to help free the oppressed,
My heart to break for the least of these
Brothers and sisters, for they are you
Compelling me to love the poor because
You have loved me.