bread, wine, and the least of these

24Mar09

bread, wine, and the least of these
by tyler priest

we are more religious
than we think
we celebrate the Eucharist
quite often
if it is true
that the Christ is found
in the least of these
we are more religious than we think

we consume the poor
day to day
buying things they made
for us to enjoy
low prices, better living
brought to us
by the least of these
we are more religious than we think

we consume their body
we consume their blood
and the earth-ground cries
on their behalf
(but our ears are stopped)
and in the process
we’ve also stripped the ground
we are more religious than we think

here in the West
consumption is the new
Eucharist
we eat their bodies
and drink their blood
with the swipe of the card
such sweet libations (not poured, but drank)
we are more religious than we think

we are more religious
than we think
we celebrate the Eucharist
quite often
if it is true
that the Christ is found
in the least of these
we are more religious than we think

Filed under: poetry   |  4 Comments
Tags: consumerism, eucharist, fair trade, Holy Communion, religiosity, social justice, the high cost of low prices, Wal-mart