A Closer Walk with Past and Destiny in the Valley of the Lion and the Lamb

i've danced and sang with sinners in the rain

and i've knelt with saints in the arms of pain

the rain washed the stains of sin much faster than the bruises on my knees ever went away

the hanging church

in the righteous sky

lofty in grandeur

we reach for salvation

we reach for redemption

we reach for identity

unable to know ourselves behind the mask of ceremony or beyond the pomp of allusion

the sinners never forget the life i lived in the warmth of the sun

the saints never remember the sacrifice of life undone

the sun forgave me for the sin of living in the shadow of my temptations much faster than the sacrifice i offered in the name of shame

we reach for salvation

in the cloudless sky

we reach for redemption

in the tears we cry

the hanging church

offers identity

if we cover ourselves in the robes of ceremony that creates the illusion of purity in the fear of eternity

the sinners embrace my humanity in the wake of the evil i

the saints shun my frailty in the birth the doubting i

in my breast pocket the receipt from the sinners for penance paid

in my wallet a writ of attachment from the saints for debts due

a man can walk with sinners

and be saved by grace

a man can walk with saints

and be burdened by guilt

the choice is clouded by endless litigation of who was wrong and who was once right in the courtroom of darkness and light

the verdict weighs heavy when the judge instructs the jury to consider the path of a man who has a past to be read and a future to write