House of Prayer (Holy Monday)

Verse 1

They charged a very handsome price,
exchanging praise for sacrifice.
The outer courts, a holy space,
had now become a marketplace.
So with a whip and frenzied eyes,
The rabbi taught and terrorized,
and cried, while they fled here and there,
“My house shall be a house of prayer!”

Verse 2

I begged my lovers, “Enter me,
open my gates, then pay your fee.”
I forgot the ransomed price
he paid when whipped, then sacrificed.
My body is a temple for
his spirit, which he freely pours.
O, cleanse me from these cursed affairs,
and make your house a house of prayer

Verse 3

The Rock had called us living stones;
instead we murder, shame, disown,
erecting walls and plastered signs
with rules, and doctrines, that divide.
Unspoken expectations learned
that love, acceptance, must be earned.
O, overturn our hearts, ensnared,
and make your house a House of Prayer.