The Body of Christ at the picket lines

In Ethiopia, he said, there are monks who pray

in the jungle, somewhere,

not for themselves but for everyone

but you are not monks

so why have you come to support our labor struggle

when it doesn't directly benefit you?

When I replied, someone ended my sentence with a phrase

That I can only understand as a prayer:

An injury to one is an injury to all

He added that his mother was single

Boeing laid her off right before Christmas

From then on he couldn't believe in a system that rewards such evil

Are these conversations theology?

Some would say we are Reds, preaching atheism

Creating a monstrous new religion that ends in a Stalinist apocalypse

But I see the Body of Christ clandestinely recomposing itself

in basic human decency

At the picket line tonight it felt like a Church basement on a good Sunday,

Passing around cups of coffee

Good conversation about ultimate matters

Jeers at the devil

And signs of peace