2 Corinthians 6:10

2 corinthians 6:10

Slowly I shut the sanctuary door,

look up in wonder at your pain

and marvel at the joy in your agony.

It's quiet, and dark, and in my mind

I can hear the crowds shouting,

your mother sobbing, your friends raging,

not knowing they were waiting

just a short eternity for the tomb to open, and eternal life to come gushing out.

Thinking back, first your mother

endured the scorn of society while carrying you

and the fear of holding a God in her womb.

But running through the confusion and exhaustion and pain of pregnancy

and labor and birth was the thread of unbridled love of mother to child

and world to savior.

The soft sounds of evening in the neighborhood slowly envelop me

and I wonder how it sounded in the temple the day you started teaching,

and your parents fear of losing you so quickly, transformed into pride and happiness as they saw you begin a journey for which you were designed.

As I kneel before your table I imagine

the taste of bread and wine and friends.

Hands dipped in water, and towel shared.

Resting in this moment of pleasure

before the heartache of betrayal,

that would surely bring about eternal joy.

I hear a bird softly call

and I see Peter's face a mask of misery as the cock crowed just one more time,

and yet even in this his savior was proven true.

As I lay beneath the window I imagine

hanging on the cross beside you and realizing that my joy was in the pain, and no place on earth would I rather be

than hanging next to You.