Hallelujahs All Around

And they sang Hallelujahs for all to hear
as the darkness gathered ’round;
it was a sad and mournful praise,
a hollow, empty sound.

See that man on the side of the road?
His blood stains the cobblestones;
he cries for help to those who pass
but he is forever alone.

Hear that child who weeps in the night?
Listen with your heart instead.
He shakes as gunfire echoes loud
while he hides beneath his bed.

Over there, in the woods; those shadowy shapes;
the lion and the lamb lay down,
seeking shelter and respite from the band of men
who walk on blood-soaked ground.

If you refuse to care for them,
then you do not care for me.
If you cannot feel their pain and despair,
if your eyes refuse to see

then lift your hands and sing your song;
pretend that you know my name.
You will inherit your just reward,
the prize of unending shame.

So they walked away, unmoved by his words,
quite sure of their chosen way,
determined, by power and cruel might
to claim their glorious day.

The man by the road, the child in the night,
all creatures that try to survive;
these are the ones who will name our sin.
Hallelujahs won’t keep them alive.

Those empty words and hollow sounds,
but where the rugged cross?
That old, cracked bowl, the ragged towel?
Without them we are lost.

One Way will finally end this pain
of destruction, chaos and hate,
but we are the ones who must shoulder the cross.
It’s never, never too late.