In the Office of the Readings for today, 24 June, the non-biblical reading is portion of a sermon by St Augustine where he contrasts Jesus, the word of God, with John, a voice crying in the wilderness:
John was born of a woman too old for childbirth; Christ was born of a youthful virgin.
Along this line of thought I offer you a poem entitled Voice and Verb:
Children sing tra la tra lay
The meaning lost not found
Empty sounds fill hallowed grounds
and echo back all day
Passion plays are full of sound
Yet meaning passes on
One, not Juan, a mother's son
From heav'n to earth did bound
Voices carry sound upon
the wind, to distant ears
Welling tears surpassing fears
for hearts so full of song
Verb is keening yet it sears
A heart to mark its' place
Amazing grace, the long embrace
will kiss away your tears
