"Turn Back, Mr. President. Even now, it is not too late."

Often in times of grave human, moral and religioius crisis, a voice emerges that speaks from and to the the hearts of people everywhere. We have all known such voices. Sometimes they come from political or religious leaders, poets and writers, mucisians and artists. Sometimes they come from friends and family or from entirely unexpected sources.

Today I want to call attention to a writer, a Christian minister and a blogger who is, I think a singularly prophetic voice. I know him as a writer who has the power to make you laugh; to make you cry; and has that rare capacity to dust off old words that have gone hollow, fill them with contemporary meaning and make them sing.

This weekend, I know that many a religious leader will be searching for the words to help thier congregations address the shock, and grief and political outrage over the unspeakable disaster along the gulf coast, particularly in New Orleans.

Pastordan has risen to the ocasion like an Old Testament prophet and a New Testament preacher who speaks to our moment like no other. Be sure to visit his diary over at the national blogger community, Booman Tribune, to find out what led him to write this:

Turn back, Mr. President. Even now, it is not too late.
Undo the hardness of your heart.
Unbend the stiffness of your neck.
Be compassionate as your God is compassionate.

The poor cry out to you--they are starving!
Hear the voice of the powerless--they are dying of thirst!
Listen to those who are elderly, and the newborn babe;
listen to those who sick, terrified, trapped and waiting for rescue.

Take command. Send every soldier, every supply, every dollar
for the good of the people.
Make this your highest priority, and demand sacrifice from your country.

What! Would you have the rich grow fatter?
Would you deny assistance to whole states?
Would you rather punish looters than save an entire city?
Would you neglect your work, only to leave it in the hands
of those who cannot carry it out?

God hears the cry of the oppressed and the suffering,
and the Lord is a God of righteousness.
You have built yourself a ranch and an insulated world,
but you will have no peace.
You have dealt in smugness and indifference,
but you will not be allowed to forget the consequences of your actions.
You have stolen the lives of thousands and ten thousands
for moments of fleeting political advantage,
but you will end your days in disgrace,
and your legacy will be bitterness, contempt and disgust.

You have not done what is right,
and you will never know the comfort of the Lord.

But as for the people of God,
they shall have peace.

Their parched and cracked lips will receive water,
and their children will feed on the finest of foods.

The fires of New Orleans will be quenched,
and the coasts of Mississippi will be rebuilt.

The victims of crime will know justice,
and the unemployed will return to work.

The sick shall be healed,
the homeless shall find rest.

The elderly shall end their days in comfort,
the young will dream once again of the sea,
and all will know the truth.

Never more shall they be robbed of protection
for the sake of war.
Never more shall they be robbed of protection
for the sake of the rich and the privileged.

Never more will they cry in vain to an unheeding government,
for they shall know the consolation of your beloved community,
and the newness of life sealed with the pledge of your rainbow sign.