"Death as a Doorway" -- Tim Knipp

Festivity is for not forgetting
what the Mighty Hand
has done
for Us.

We were slaves -
faced with extinction,
in danger
from hubris gone wild.
Supported by 
pagan beliefs,
the citizens obeyed 
their human god -
treating people as property,
annihilating Hebrew males
as a form of population control.

Meanwhile...

The Burning Bush
speaks
(moved by compassion)
and mounts a plan
to rescue a people
and call them
to Himself.

Then darkness
unravels
as Creation
rebels.

Blood of lambs
serves as a symbol
and safety net -
islands in the midst
of a destructive
storm.
Doorways framed
in scarlet;
death as a path
to hope.

So we remember
again and again
in ritual
and celebration.

Choosing a lamb who
is worthy,
the first criteria.
Jesus bows His head
in submission.

We are slaves to sin,
owned and driven
by the Power 
clothed in shadow.

Jesus offers freedom.
Death
as a path
to hope.