Pillage: I loathe this word
I loathe this word I don’t want to say
Nothing about it attracts me
Or suggests anything to say about it
Much less use it in a sentence
My abhorrence lies in its power
To bring images to mind —
Images that compound this world’s evil
Leaving no peace for victims
Yet one image alone gives me hope
It’s stronger than these robbers —
The image of Jesus Christ
Whose birth we just recognized
I imagine JC—not the Superstar
And not Jesus meek and mild
Rather, JC storming the bastions of hell
Within and without
Cleaning out the stench of our stables
Knocking relentlessly on our doors
Anointing our scars and wounds
With oil of healing and compassion
JC turns pillaging on its head
Inside out and upside down
Not with the flick of a magic wand
But in his life of full allegiance
To the One who sent him to our aid —
Victims and perpetrators alike
How can we not welcome his appearance?
© Elouise Renich Fraser, 28 December 2016
Response to WordPress Daily Prompt: Pillage
Telling the Truth 