A poem I wrote on Good Friday of 2016
Born a child in a manger,
Son of Mary and Son of the great I Am,
Outcast as a stranger,
He extended God’s welcome to every child, woman and man.
Embracing liars and thieves,
Loving the poor and the rich.
Helping those struggling to believe,
Liberating the powerless and sick.
Comforting the lonely and the child,
Forgiving the murderer and religious elite,
Healing the immigrant and those left-out.
Welcoming any who would hear and see.
His message of good news would not be silenced,
Nor his deeds of love contained.
In anger and fear the authorities turned to violence,
To murder the One they could not explain.
God Incarnate and Love enfleshed,
He was condemned with thunderous applause.
Crowned with thorns upon his head,
Willingly killed on a Roman cross.
His lifeless body placed in a grave,
Marred by the violence of the rebellious Fall.
But raised to life by God’s Spirit He defeated sin and death,
As the promised King and Lord of all.
Long Way Here 