Strolling through Eden
just to be with us,
God offers Himself -
a companion
for life.
A temple rose slowly
in the desert.
Excellence graced
carved doorways
and statues
of awesome size,
Evocative of
garden space
shared.
God comes down
to be with us
in the here and now,
to stitch Himself
as permanently as shadow
to our fractured
souls
so that we might
never
be
alone.
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| Celebrations God's Works |
At the beginning
it was good
until the fractures came.
Since then
You have battled
to mend and bring us back
to good.
There came a time
when we clamored
for a king -
tired of differing
from other nations -
and You relented,
though likely with
saddened heart,
knowing the bruises
and dislocation
to come from
our foolishness.
Such children we were,
blinded by the need to fit in,
follow flesh
and have our own way.
Looking back,
the stumbles are easy
to see
as are Your infinite
tender
mercies.
You asked me in a dream
to tell You what I need
and I asked for the wisdom
to handle my task
with justice.
You showed up
again and again
to guide me through
the obstacle course,
bandage my scraped knees,
and turn my face
back
to good.
You are asking
that same question today:
"What do you want?"
And the question echoes
and trembles
with significance.
What do I want?
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.
The end
is not the end
at all.
The unveiling will occur,
disclosing
the next stage
of the journey -
the real vista
spreading before us.
Everything
after this moment
is the future.
I carry with me,
stuffed in pockets,
ideas of that time:
eventual destruction
or
eternal glory.
God says,
"I am making all things
new."
In renewed places,
the earth will be reborn
in blissful colors -
even colors will have colors -
and multi-faceted
echoes
of musical symphonics
will ring out.
Reverberations
and waves
of beauty.
Brokenness will heal,
chaos dissolve,
borders melt
and shards of pain
evaporate,
leaving deep-seated
contentment
and shalom.
God will dwell
with us, His people,
once again.
Everpresent.
God squared,
poured out
and filling every atom.
"A consummation devoutly
to be wished."*
Hold onto
this revelation to come
and live
accordingly.
*William Shakespeare, Hamlet
