The word of Triumph

It is finished

John 19:30

(photo by Pastor Keith)

It Is Finished.

Look.

Can you see the victory?

There, the wood of the cross stands silent,

offers instruction in silence,

in shadow, we weep,

the moment unending,

unending, stretching out into

the minutes that mark

our lives fixed here, in darkness.

But look,

a light in the darkness.

Yes, a light,

Life, not death.

Let not your eyes deceive you.

Blink. Tears make clear what we see only in shadow,

what we dare to dream.

Look. See.

Let all resolve into hope,

hope beyond, beyond the vastness of infinite

creation, the mountains, the seas, galaxies,

the primal heat of a thousand thousands suns,

All being made new, transformed,

death to life, the power of death broken, shattered,

shards eroding into dust carried on the wind.

We shall not diminish death, its pain,

pain that sears the soul, tears,

leaves love bleeding, weeping,

unending memories that long for healing.

The scars that remain.

We shall not diminish what is lost.

We grieve.

Echoes of words still being heard,

I thirst, I thirst, I thirst,

words living still in our thoughts.

We shudder,

a son is dead.

My God, why have you forsaken me?

Abandonment shall not claim the final word, nor death.

There is no shadow without light,

And in him was light, the light of all people.

The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness did not overcome it.

Look, in the light love breathes,

it lives, it flourishes,

grace in all its beauty, wonder,

the glory of the heavens bursting forth

in song, singing, praising,

our souls stilled

It is finished,

can you see the victory?

In patience we pause,

not to ponder what has been lost,

but that in Christ

we have been found and found forever,

the love of God written

in living words that shall not fade,

shall not fail, love,

dwelling, abiding, defining us forever.