In Christ is neither free nor poor,
And neither dig-ni-ty.
Only of elite heirs are made;
For inclusion?—a fee.
In this world is credit needed,
Protect this—made it shine,
Rearranged Paul’s duty-free words—
The profit is now mine.
Protect this—made it shine,
Rearranged Paul’s duty-free words—
The profit is now mine.
© 2025 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.
Originally published on tristanrobertlange.com, September 22, 2025.
Originally published on tristanrobertlange.com, September 22, 2025.
Tittu
Poet’s Note:
In dialog with the hymn “In Christ There is No East or West” and written in its meter (Common or 8.6.8.6), this two-stanza hymn-poem responds to the notice found on hymnary.org (https://hymnary.org/hymn/UMH/548), and other such notices, countering the very heart of Biblical evangelism.
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Author:
Tristan Robert Lange (
Online) - Published: September 21st, 2025 07:01
- Category: Religion
- Views: 14
- Users favorite of this poem: Friendship, sorenbarrett
Online)
Comments6
Well written, this poem revolves around the theme of exclusivity in faith and spiritual elitism. It critiques the notion that salvation or inclusion in a religious community is contingent upon status or financial means, as well as the commodification of faith. The subject matter addresses the tension between spiritual ideals of equality and the reality of societal hierarchies.
Friendship, thank you so much for taking the time to read so deeply into this one. You really nailed the core tension I was wrestling with ...that painful gap between the ideal of equality in Christ and the way faith so often gets commodified or gated by hierarchy. I’m grateful you caught that and put it so clearly. 📜💰⛪🙏
Clever wording in this poem. The word play is wonderful with (profit) as well in the first line (free or poor) (duty-free) So much hypocrisy in man made religion pointed out in the (fee) that not only rhymes with (free) but is an antonym. Turned upside down an inverted cross it is. A fave
Soren, thank you, my friend. 🙏 You caught exactly what I was after...the wordplay doubling as a mirror for hypocrisy, and the fee/free inversion biting back at the very heart of the hymn’s intent. I wanted the form (common meter) to carry a sacred rhythm, even as the words protest the way profit sneaks in through the side door of faith. Grateful for your careful read and the fave! ✝️💸📜🕊️
Hey Tristan, I thought you were more of an individualist than that.... and here you are adhering to the time honored MPS tradition of a post but a silent response... (what happened at your Patriotism post?)
Dave, haha, no silent protest here…ever...you know me better than that. LOL! Just a busy weekend of work and trying to keep up on reading others’ poems before circling back to my own. 😅 And since I’m on two other poetry sites too, it’s a real slog sometimes! 🤣 Anywho, you’ll be relieved to know I’m caught up now. 🤣 Thank you for reading, kind sir!
Patriotism is a topic which really gets me going so I was super interested to read your responses. I jumped the gun with my prompt. You do always respond, so in the end it was discourteous of me to put it to you like that. Apologies - I'm sorry.
(I'm right out of my depth when it comes to THIS topic!)
LOL! No worries, Dave! All good! Glad I finally got caught up...for now! hahaha!
Ahh, a hymn-poem! Doh! An extra syllable crept in at Verse 2, line 2. You could make it 'tis' instead of 'it is'. Well, it does fit if you sing the 'Protect it' bit quickly. We must know these things exactly! lol. That was about Primary School 'School Hymn' as a sort of motto.
Rollup, roll up, to some churches where you gotta PAY for everything, even £3 (or $3) for an Art Group, towards cost of materials I suppose. Even St Paul is fair and not money-grabbing.
Yes, good catch, and...worse yet, I used the word "mine: twice. That's no way to rhyme! Rewrote it:
In this world is credit needed,
Protect this—made it shine,
Rearranged Paul’s duty-free words—
The profit is now mine.
As for the rest of what you shared...haha yes! Exactly that ...it was sparked by stumbling across the hymn notice on Hymnary, of all places. Imagine turning Paul’s words about radical equality into “pay-to-participate.” 😅 St. Paul wouldn’t have been shaking people down at the church door, that’s for sure. Thank you for catching that spirit, my friend, and having a tired poet's back too! 😅 📜💰⛪🙏
C'mon now, folks, pay up towards my private, rented pew-box, complete with doors and curtains - as in olden days. Curtains so I can doze off during sermons probably, or you'll think I'm there but I'm not behind the curtains. lol.
Haha! Yes, Orchi, nothing like a good ol’ pew-box with curtains to keep the coin collectors guessing. 😂 Just imagine the ushers thinking you’re in deep prayer while you’re really having a nap. Sounds like the ultimate subscription upgrade. 🤣
They'll be charging entrance fees to church services. Sshh! Let's not give them that idea! lol. And not now Popeye. He crept in. heehee.
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