The Gospel According to the Minor Prophets

The Gospel according to Hosea:
God's love wounds
God's love can be wounded
God's love, wounded, heals the wounding
The Gospel according to Joel:
Dream, children! Dream, slaves!
There's nothing now to fear!
When God throws the party
the first serve the best wines
to the last
The Gospel according to Amos:
Some truths only nobodies know
like God prefers bent sticks to fine lines
and Justice is worship dead to rights
The Gospel according to Obadiah:
Because of your pride, I bring you down
In my humility, I go down with you
There, we are sanctuary for others
The Gospel according to Jonah:
The word of judgment is nothing but the word of mercy
taking the long way home
The Gospel according to Micah:
The story of salvation: God leaves home
alone in the dark,
limping just like his father
The Gospel according to Nahum:
Bloody ones, your cruelties are endless
so I myself will be your end—I'll make your grave
my own
The Gospel according to Habakkuk:
The only praise God wants to hear
comes after nervy protest
and the unnerving silence that follows
The Gospel according to Zephaniah:
You say I'm a do-nothing God, but my day's coming
I'll act and when I'm done there'll be nothing left—
but jubilee
The Gospel according to Haggai:
The poor are God's signet ring
Only those with nothing left to lose can dare believe
how good our future yet may be
The Gospel according to Zechariah:
What do I see? A city without walls or sentries
A table set for all God's giddy friends
Faces bright with joy
The Gospel according to Malachi:
Our curse: we cannot tell how we wound God and neighbor
But the curse is cursed! God, as neighbor, heals