The Sneaky Lie
The Cosmic Comedy
Ironically, though the Bible covers every type of literature, in its final form the Bible is a cosmic comedy. And all throughout the biblical story there is one main character, even if not always on the scene. The story of Scripture is a story about God’s only Son, Jesus the Christ. I was reading the other day in the book of Ezekiel. I read the words “there shall be no more a brier to prick or a thorn to hurt them,” in Ezekiel 28:24. I began thinking about all the edenic language in Scripture and began to sketch a few lines to the poem below that recalled some of that biblical language. I have tried to show through this poem that Jesus is the hero of the story because He fixes what is the cosmic problem by restoring a way to Eden and fellowship with God.
Just a word and all wonders wrought
God announced, and behold, it was all good
Creation had communion with the Creator
God walked in the Garden
Yet with Adam the serpent did conspire
And brought the world into mire
Beckoned to the grave
Everything disarranged
The curse burst upon the scene
But in the midst a seed of hope was seen
Many men came and went
Was the hope of promise spent?
Many lambs, prophets, priests and kings
Yet none with true salvation in their wings
Darkness for a time
No prophet’s voice was heard
Yet in the darkness I Light it shone
And it would overcome the darkness
Behold, O’ world, your Prophet, Priest, and King
Jesus the Promised Seed and Lamb
The curse brought in shall be expunged
Yes, replunged upon the Son
Christ was crushed as promised
But in His crushing, crushed Satan, sin, and death
He was cursed to reverse the curse
He felt our plight to set all things right
The lion to lay down with the lamb,
Because, the Great I AM, was slain
No more brier prick or thorn to stick
All shall be made new
When our King all subdue
All shall be made new
All foes to be forgotten
Forever banished now
That serpent of old will receive its last scald
And be the god of the pit
We shall walk in the Garden again,
Because God walked Gethsemane to Golgotha
The true Temple, Tabernacle, Eden restored
Communion with the creator in the New Jerusalem
The ground will be paved with gold,
For gold will have no glory,
The only glory will be the story of God’s unfailing love
All shall be made new
Victory through the Son!
All shall be made new
Victory through the Son!
Come, Lord Jesus, come!
Your Guides Mislead You
“O my people, your guides mislead you”
The blind tell you where to go
And the deaf, they teach you
Because they tell you to dig holes, and promise buried treasure,
But you’re just stuck in a hole
They’ve buried you, there was no treasure
“Your guides mislead you”
Because they tell you to climb the mountain, own it all,
You get there, you made it,
You freeze and die, alone, at the top
“O my people, your guides mislead you” (Isaiah 3:12b),
Turn to Me
The End (is finished for some)
All shall quake; the earth shall shake for fear.
Cacophonous[1] cries and weeps of fear.
Who can persevere?! Who can persevere?!
Darkness, plague, and plight are nothing now, an inch of rain to the ocean.
Death and hail welcomed dear, compared to holy wrath.
O’ for the mountains to fall, to crawl into the grave, pleasures unbequeathed.
Sepulcher and tombs pining for their grave; prefer sleep to full rage!
Dies Irae,[2] a real blood bath; lo’ all doom is sure!
All is exposed, no grove of darkness now.
The path is fast, God’s wrath is sure, how do you ever hope to endure?
Every wrong ended, every right resplendent.
Never hastening, onward chasing, the end, it is sure.
An end of all pity and patience,[3]
No time to run, all is done,
Destruction of all pernicious powers.
The cup of wrath,
Shall be poured fast,
And drank down to the dregs.
All your deeds will be recounted, all your riches to be spilled, be spoiled.
No chance reprisal, no pro se,[4] all shall end that day.
Eternal hades never waning, who is there to do explaining?!
All laid bare, compare perfection, and dash the hope of resurrection.
Day of wrath, of retribution, where is my hope of cons’lation?
Saving solace, be not found on any man laid in the ground.
Only One from thence did raise, be any hope to thee contr’ve.
Slain in flesh yet rose in power, this one hope of dark hour.
Day of wrath, of retribution, You good Lord my one cons’lation.
Boldly come now I, no wrath to fear, no pro se, for You have been my proxy.[5]
I, in You, which is perfection, now sweet resurrection!
This my sure hope, my solid ground, when all ‘bout me veh’mence.
Look on me, my innocence flee, look to Christ my innocence and life!
This my one hope and solace be, that You did die for me.
Peace by Your punishment, blessed because You bruised.
Day of wrath, endured.
Punishment paid; from the cross You finished it.
The end is done, for some.
Solemnity[6] in the wake of such thoughts bestow.
Awake, and break, yes, stir my heart again.
O’ Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief, amen.
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[1] It has a discordant or jarring sound.
[2] Latin for “day of wrath.”
[3] See II Esdra 7:32-33.
[4] This refers to a person representing himself or herself without a lawyer in a court proceeding.
[5] This refers to someone who acts on someone else’s behalf, speaks for them, or is their substitute.
[6] That is, a gravity and earnestness to all of life.
The World she Whispers softly
She whispers her lies, to my demise
O’ how the plague fills my ears
But O’ how I listen, O’ how I listen
Stop up my ears
The world she speaks softly, sweetly
And bitterly she pulls her blade
O’ how the strong have fallen
Collapsed onto the ground
She whispers sweetly, softly
Venomous snake recoiled in bread
Yes, a wolf in sheep’s clothing
But tell me the lies, tell me the lies, I want to hear.
I want to be blinded. I want to embrace the sheep. I’ll disregard the noose around my neck.
Apparently I’m the epitome of insanity,
In search of life (sehnsucht), embracing death
O’ God! Stop up my ears. And make me hear…
Your truth.
in X 