Easter, poetry, biblical creativity, prayer simplicity

What I love about the Easter season is Jesus.

maybe that sounds silly, because that is exactly what Easter is about - Jesus dying for us and then overcoming death, offering us life, loving us enough to do that - die and come back.

But this Easter season in particular, I've been thinking JUST about him. I've been reading through Psalms a lot lately and am struck by the way that I pray for a lot of things, but not often enough do I pray just for more of Jesus in my life. I'm not prone to those simple prayers - just that I would know him better, the one who died for me, offered me life, loved me enough to die and come back.

And yet, as I have started to pray those prayers, I have discovered how my heart longs simply just for him. I long for more of his presence, more knowledge of who he is, more gratitude for the way in which he loves me -enough to die and come back. And as I pray for him, I am becoming more in awe of his glory, and I just want to see more and more of it, more of the Son of God.

So this morning I wrote this little poem. I guess it's inspired by a lot of things I've been thinking of lately. Primarily, it focuses on the gorgeous scene of Isaiah's vision of the Lord in Isaiah chapter 6 (great sermon on this by Tim Keller...thanks to Doogie for sharing it!) and on a few psalms I've been reading through.

Happy Easter weekend! I hope it comes with more Jesus in your life, too :)

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Burning Ones

"as a deer longs for springs of water, so my soul longs for you..." - psalm 42:1

"full" is the word-

fabric from his train spills down

from where he sits in the temple,

a multi-colored thing spilling,

and I'm afraid I'll touch it.

and it fills the space,

totally full,

like water, not fabric-

or air.

the Burning Ones are standing above,

the ones I inhale with my eyes,

or wish I could run from,

or wish I had their wings

to shadow myself away.

But they look at each other

so closely it is as though the one

was looking at himself,

the other the same,

and somehow also at me when

they sing back and forth:

holy. holy. holy.

With each call

across the space

of the temple I feel embers

at my toes,

feel them move inside my stomach,

chest,

mouth,

eyelids,

until I am full of flame.

How long?

How long, O Lord,

will I stand before you,

burning?

As I feel the shift of my body

to ashes, a Burning One

comes to me,

and touching my lips, says:

he is taking it all away--

there now. Do you feel that?

he is taking it all away,

all away --

he is taking it all away

and now it's done.

Before I can sing, or weep

I notice the train,

continually filling the temple

like smoke, but not smoke-

like breath.

full, full, full of

voice I sing along

with the Burning Ones,

so together we are trying

to say what will never

be sung enough.