Celebrating Easter - April 20, 2003
An Easter Meditation In Free Verse
The word "resurrection,” translates a Greek word which means something like "to stand up again." Its full meaning is a mystery. Seeking to grasp it, Paul wrote, “As all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ." (1 Corinthians 15: 22) In doing so, he pointed to two further mysteries. One is the power of death and the power of all of death's children - fear; anger, despair, and pride.
Every human being in every age must live with those realities.
Why this is so is a mystery to which Paul points when he writes, “All die in Adam.” But there is a greater mystery, and a wonderful one: “All will be made alive in Christ.”
“as all die in Adam…”
Adam, you jerk!
You stand there,
beneath the fragrant shade of the tree
at the heart of the garden.
The golden juices of its forbidden fruit dribble down your
chin.
You stand, slack-jawed in mid-bite,
your eyes round with shock,
staring inward,
suddenly appalled to see what you have become.
You are every Everyone,
the universal human.
You are us, and we are you.
You are our sin, and we are yours.
What made you take the bait?
What makes us prone to every fast-talking,
snake-oil-selling possibility that comes along and sidetracks our desires,
crossing our will against the purposes of God?
What makes us grab the fruit?
What makes us try to hold within our grasp
the mastery of life, that we might be as gods?
Seeking order, we build empires –
which then crush the poor, and lead to chaos.
Seeking economic growth, we plunder Earth’s resources -
and clog her air with poisons.
Seeking final understanding, we pull apart the atom –
and build weapons of mass destruction.
We try to be like God
and we're not up to it, are we, Adam?
What makes us do it?
What makes us trample on the precincts of God
and trespass in the corridors of heaven?
Don't try to blame it on the snake!
Don't try to blame it on your spouse.
Temptations words fall empty on our ears
until they find a welcoming thought within.
What, thought was it that prompted you?
What thought is it that haunts each one of us?
Is it this - the fear that we're alone?
God was absent from the garden when you made your choice,
Left the place to you, only came there for an evening stroll.
Did you think perhaps that God would not be back?
Do we think perhaps God has abandoned us,
gone missing,
perhaps was never there?
Do we think we are alone, to make the best of it we can?
And the best we can make isn’t much.
Answer us, Adam.
Is it the fear that we’re alone!
You stand there silent.
You cannot answer,
for you are us, and we are you.
We cannot stand much more of this.
We stand with you, Adam,
our folly dribbling down our chin:
this fruit is poison to us,
and we won’t be standing for long.
Adam, you jerk!
“So all will be made alive in Christ.”
Jesus, you wonder!
You stand there,
beneath the fragrant shade of the flowered tree
at the heart of the garden of glory.
You stand there,
your eyes round with delight,
astonished to see what you have become in God.
You stand there,
beyond all hunger,
nothing in your mouth but words of welcome.
You stand again,
nowhere near the grave,
standing up for all of us.
You are Everyone, renewed,
the universal human redefined.
You are us, and we are you.
You are our hope, and we are yours.
Because you stand for us
we too, can stand again!
Stand thus -
Young people stand before a chain-link fence and chant their slogans on behalf of the poor, and the empire of economic globalization falters, if only for a step or two.
A citizen stands and walks out the door instead of sitting and riding to work, having, found during the transit strike that the brisk walk was not just survivable but enjoyable, and one day’s worth of emissions stays in the gas tank.
One of the “Raging Grannies” stands in silent vigil beside an Air Force base as planeloads of soldiers fly off to a peacekeeping mission, her candle shining its benediction as the arts of war are turned to the cause of peace.
In these and countless ways indeed we stand again.
For in your Easter rising, Christ,
this truth stands forth:
God has not abandoned us.
We have nothing to fear.
Even when in Adam’s grave,
you raise us up to stand.
Jesus, you wonder!
Rod Sykes, St. Andrew’s united Church, Calgary, AB