Whispers

There is something on the winds
There is a breeze coming out of Bethlehem
There are whispers in the air

Out to the East
There are whispers
"Look up to the sky"
They softly say
"Look up and see
The celestial celebration
Hidden in plain sight"
A sigh goes out to the East
"Look up and see
The sign of the Anointed"

Out to the mountains
To the forests
To the depths
There are whispers
"The Maker is back"
They say with gentle ferocity
"Can't you feel the Artist's touch?
Can't you feel the slow return to completion?"

Up into the Temple
Into the very Holy of Holies
There are whispers
"The Child is coming"
They proclaim into the solemnity
"The One with the authority
To break the seals
He will make you new
He will clear away
That by which you are shamed
And He will pour you out into the world"
They drift into the ancient tombs
Inserting themselves
Into the sleep of the prophets, the judges, and the kings
The dark silence of Sheol
Is interrupted by single message
"The Promised One is born"

Down into the streets
To a child born blind
Among others
"A day is coming soon"
They announce cheerfully
"The Prince has been born
So that He may deliver to you
Your inheritance
You will be cut off
Marked by the Angel of Sorrows
Cut off from the world
So the Prince of that world
Will not find you"

Across the skies
Upon the breeze
The whispers go out
They break open
The breeze unlocks
Over shepherds in the night
And the song of angels
Is heard with all its terror and wonder
"Glory to God in the Highest!
And peace on earth to those
On whom His favor rests!"

There are whispers on the air this night
Of a baby lying in a feeding trough
Of a Savior who cannot speak
Or care for Himself
Or control His own bladder
There are whispers this night
Of the God who
By His greatness
Became small
Who in His wisdom
Became ignorant
The Baby
That would destroy
And the remake
This wretched world
The God of all-comsuming
Undignified Love

Parables: The Two Villages

Once there were two tribal villages, and in these villages there was a man found guilty of having murdered a son of the other village's leader. There was no doubt that he had done it, there had been no provocation, and there was no one who had tricked him or egged him on. In short, there was no one to blame but the man in question. Not only that, but his act had driven a wedge between the villages so that the friendship that had existed between them could only be restored if he was given up to be executed, and if his village did not offer him up there would be war.

As it was, there was another man who was the elder brother of the murdered boy. This man (let us call him Blameless and the other Guilty) had been living for a year in the village of Guilty and was regarded by all as an upstanding fellow who was true to his word and was joy to everyone he met. Now, when Guilty was brought forward and his punishment was being prepared Blameless came forward and volunteered to take his place. If anyone else had stepped forward it would not have been allowed. However, because Blameless was the most loved and righteous man in either village his greatness was a match for Guilty's sin. He was also loved by all so that the woe and mourning necessary to seal such a reconciliation would be present in his death. Finally, as the brother of the murdered boy the offense was against him more than it was against any living member of the village except for his father.

There are two ways that this story can end. The Disney ending would be for the willingness of Blameless to be enough and for Guilty to be let off the hook. This is not inconceivable as a real scenario, and it would be enough to restore the status quo of the villages. However, that is all it would do. On the other hand, Blameless could be taken up on his offer and executed in the place of Guilty. If this were to happen the villages would be reconciled but there would also being something more. For on thing, the relationship between the two would actually be greater than it had been originally as they would be bound in kinship through the blood of Blameless. And this bond is one of blood that is spilled, not of blood that is mixed; it is one thing to be brought into a kinship through marriage and another thing entirely to be brought into a kinship through costly, irreversible sacrifice. For another thing, there would be a difference in the character of Guilty. He is now indebted to Blameless in a way that he can never just shrug off so long as he has even the slightest bit of goodness in him. Moreover, to return to his old self is not something that he has any right to do even if he had some right to begin with; even if all his sins never hurt another living person he would be giving the greatest possible offense to Blameless. He is convicted.

Peekaboo

The darkness closes in
Like a converging sea of claws
A canopy of ashes blotting out the stars
A manifest gloom smothering the candlelight
An army of unseen horrors
Toppling the places of law
And raising up their infernal banner

There was a hope
A hero to save the day
A plan to break the curse
A revolt to restore the King
A light to fill the darkness
But it all failed

The hero is dead
The plan is in ruins
The soldiers are cornered
The light is dimming

We had hoped this was a comedy
But the approaching end
Can only be tragic

The fairy tale is over
The dread witch has won

But then the sun comes out
Not slowly
Not peeking fearfully over the mountains
But instead faster than all perception
As if with instantaneous speed
It leaps to its zenith
And blasts the night away

We were holed up in the highest tower
With the enemy filling up every chamber and corridor
The whole fortress filled with depravity and despair
When we made one last suicidal charge
And now the gates are all closed
And everywhere
The gargoyles are waking up
Opening their jaws
stretching out their claws
Waking to the sight of enemies

From the heights
The shofar sounds
And in answer
From the depths
A song rises

As if it were all
A divine game of peekaboo
As if God had covered His face
For just a moment
During which we
Of little faith and little mind
Thought He had disappeared entirely
During which the vile
Thought it safe to come out

Now the Hands come apart
Now the Face is shone
With delight for the beloved
With victory for the faithful
With deliverance for the poor
With unending joy for the sinner
Caught in the snares of repentance
And the schemes of grace

But what of those
Who would hurt
His bride?
They will be caught
In traps which they laid
They will fall before His fury

The veil is parting
And on the other side
Are chariots of fire

My Firm Foundation

You want to know why I'm out here?
Why I'm taking this risk
Putting my reputation
My name
On the line?

It's not because I'm brave
And there's no way in Hell
That it's because I'm so wise
Or strong

I've been told
That everyone I ever trust
Will fail me
Including myself
But that wasn't quite right
It was understated
Because out of everyone I've trusted
Out of every named I've staked my fortunes on
The greatest failure is me
No one ever betrayed me
Like my very own self

You want to know
Where I get my knowledge?
How I can discern these things?

It's not my own intellect
It's not my education
Have you seen that mess out there?
The hundreds of philosophies?
The wonders and miseries of history?
The billions bits of trivia?
I don't care how smart you are
I don't care how educated you are
There's still so much you don't know
So much you can't account for
I don't care how good your aim is
You can't hit that bullseye

You want to know
Where I get my hope?
How I can care about these things
And not go hang myself?
How I can look at death
Without fearing
The vast unknown?

It's not positive thinking
It's not some politician
Some hero who's here today and gone tomorrow
It's not some twelve-step plan
It's not some national plan
Sure a few of those might be okay
But what they leave behind
It spoils
Withers
Burns
I can give my life
To an earthly cause
But if I give it my soul
Then I'm just screwed

You really shouldn't have asked
You know the answer
It's the same as the answer
To the question your rolling eyes ask
"Why don't you ever shut up
About that Jesus?"

He is my Rock
My Firm Foundation

If I am ever bold
It's because I'm under orders
From the Maker of mountains
It's because I'm not fighting
With my own strength
If I look brave
It's because I've been praying for hours
Shaking and trembling and weeping
And the I Am has answered

If I have any wisdom
If my thoughts on a thing
Are within even a thousand miles
Of the thing as it really is
It's because I'm not wandering in the dark
For metaphysics I start with Genesis
For ethics I start with the Sermon on the Mount
For history I start with the Empty Tomb
To know the heart of all meaning
To answer the ultimate "why"
I look in Exodus
To the I Am

If I have any hope
It's because my ransom is paid
It's because my King
Has already squared off with death
And He let everyone know
Who won that war
It's because my inheritance
Will never decay
Will never be lost
Will never be stolen
It's because there is nothing they can do to me
That will not vanish in the coming dawn
It's because my fate is in the hands
Of the I Am

He is my Rock
My Firm Foundation

Gotta Stop the Cycle

A train heads to Auschwitz
With prisoners
Sentenced to be stripped of their humanity
With soldiers
Singing of the glory of Germany
Riding along to their own damnation

A broken home
It doesn't matter why
Ambition
Alcohol
Anger
It doesn't matter which
The child gets lost
Can't see the sun
For that big bitter cloud
Bad things happen
More misfortune means more shame
More shame means more blame
More bitterness

Something's gotta change
Gotta break the cycle

A man out in the streets
Running from his father
Full of spite
And self-sufficiency
He took what was his
And left
Now it's all gone
And his wounded pride
Is angry as hell
Now he's desperate
And he does desperate things
And hates everyone with more than him
And he's high on anything that'll make him forget
That unbearable shame

Something's gotta change
Gotta break the cycle
Gotta stop that train

Some idiot
Decides to make a buck
Off exploitation and injustice
Then some more people do it
They say it's more efficient
They'll be out of business otherwise
Then everyone's doing it
And it's just the way it is

Something's gotta change
Gotta break the cycle
Gotta stop that train

A little boy grows up
With the accumulated sins
Of human history
Blotting out the sun
Pride
War
Nonsense
Greed
Envy
All of it
Every little bit
There's nothing really wrong with him
Except for everything

Something's gotta change
Gotta break the cycle
Gotta stop that train

Falling into the nothing
The endless noise
The final despair
Everything
Falling
Falling
Into the pit

Gotta jump into the grinder
Jam up the machine
Gotta run into the middle of it
Do something crazy
Change the equation
Gotta make something new

That's why He came
The Nazarene
The Man out on the tracks
Digging in His heels
Waiting for the train
He came to make something new
To bring in the light
To interrupt the routine
To the stop the cycle

Angels' Shout

Rejoice!
Look to Bethlehem
And sing a song of joy
The King is come
Heaven's Prince
Lies in a trough tonight
The fulfillment is begun
The restoration is in motion
Ancients
Beauties of the cosmos!
Look to the earth
Where your Maker lies asleep
Don't you recognize Him?
Then shine down in celebration
Announce your Lord
Shepherds of Israel!
Come and hear
The voice
Of the One who breathed you
Into your mother's womb
Laughing and crying
Children of Jacob!
Can't you feel it?
A shoot has risen from the stump of Jesse

Come out!
Messiah is on the streets
Sacred wisdom
Is shouted in the square
Drop your things of labor
Forego your mourning
Go out and see
The coming of the Kingdom
Go out and celebrate
The coming of the Bridegroom
You whom He calls
"Beloved"
Take off your bandages
Uncover your shame
The Healer is here
Come be made new
Receive the gift He gladly gives
Come out of your homes!
Forget your usual business
Let go of your reservations
Come out and celebrate!

Wail!
Scream and cry out!
Emmanuel is dead!
The wonderful Deliverer
The delightful One
The Promised Child
Is murdered
Mutilated on a cross
Wail
You wretches
You who betrayed and forsook Him
How can you be quiet o earth?
Tremble!
Can you rest
O prophets?
Get up
Out of your tombs
And testify

Wake up!
Wake up and go see
The tomb is empty
Death is dead
The mourning is over
The feast is begun
He is back!
The beautiful One
He is returned
And He has broken
The throne of Hell
Go and see
Dance and laugh and sing
He has ransomed His bride
He has made her
Has made all things
New

He has Endured

My hope is secure
My soul is guarded
My faith is well-placed
In Messiah

He was born amidst bloodshed
Into a persecuted people
In the homeland of the bloodiest
Of pagan idols

The strictest examinations
Could find no fault in Him
The most cunning of traps
Failed to snare Him
He fulfilled every prophecy and law
And when they killed Him anyway
The grave could not bind Him
Defeat could not claim Him

My King is alive

Faction did not erase Him
Heretics failed to conceal Him
And all the pains Rome could inflict
Were not enough to halt Him

The barbarians attacked
And found their idols overcome
The Muslims advanced with sabers rattling
And were pushed back

Men of worldly piety
Tried to muffle Him
Sold His name
For gold and girls and good repute
And made to bury Him
In a golden tomb
But His words fell upon every language
His faithful sanctified houses of worship
and drove out the world
With a red-hot iron
And all the wealth of the world
Was not enough to hold Him down

Voltaire tried to replace Him
The Nihilists tried to ignore Him
Statists, Feminists, Communists, Transcendentalists
Skeptics of every kind
All tried to erase, supplant, refute
All passed away into ages past
While the object of their scorn
Remained

Kings covered Him
In imperial banners
Merchants locked him up
In the deepest bowels of slave ships
They tried to steal His name
To own it

They went the way of all mortal things

Persecution
Scorn
Subterfuge
Even Death
My King endured it all

The history
Of Emmanuel
Is a history of empty tombs

Polytheism is too Civilized and Pantheism is too Wild

Polytheism is too civilized and pantheism is too wild. The polytheist gods are appeased with offerings because their laws are arbitrary; there is nothing really meaningful or eternal about their commandments. On the other hand, the laws of the Pantheist God are completely unchanging but they are also impassive. They are completely natural in precisely the same way that the laws of gravity are natural so that no matter how eternal they are they still have very little to do with righteousness. But the God of the Bible is something else entirely. His laws are both eternal and good; it is true that to ignore them naturally leads to spiritual death just as ignoring the laws of the forest naturally leads to death, but it is also true that they should lead to such a thing and it is likewise true that to follow them should lead to eternal life. His laws are unbending, for they are holy and wise, but His love has rescued the accused. While not defying the old ways, He made a new way.

Extravagant Giving

The men of wealth
Are not too extravagant
Dumping buckets of gold at the altar
The widow is not praised for her long face
It is the wealthy donors
Whose giving is not extravagant enough
They are the ones who scorn the celebration
Settling for mortal trumpets
And human praise

It's not about fasting
It's not about penance
It's about celebration
It's about dancing and shouting and giggling

It's about manna from Heaven
That is to be spent the day it arrives
It's about perfume on the feet of our Lord
After all, He set the example
Though every gift He received
Was rightfully His from the beginning
With the gift of a poor boy's lunch
He gave out a feast
And what He did save up
The prophecies and stories and miracles
Which He had stored up since the Fall
He poured back out
In the most extravagant gift of all
The blood
The body
The empty tomb

It should absolutely be costly
At times it might even be painful
But it's not about the pain
It's about the celebration

Our God delights
In extravagant gifts

Legion

An army
Stretching out into the horizon
Of eternal horrors
More ancient than the earth
Armed with every imaginable temptation
Every conceivable ailment and scourge

They were old when Adam was young
They were there when Jerusalem fell
When Daniel prayed they met Michael in battle
They were there in the court of Solomon
And they made their homes in the Baal temples
Gorging themselves on infant blood

They are the princes of the earth
The lords of gold and steel
The monsters in the shadows
The destroyers of love and worship
The enemies of our souls
Assembled in two tormented hosts

But then He comes into view
Jesus of Nazareth
The Man of Galilee
The Emmanuel

There is no rattling of sabers
He does not shout or threaten
They do not roar and pound their feet
While He is still on the horizon
They fall flat on their faces
Begging for a merciful defeat