1 Corinthians 15:1-11

by loisem

Painting by Patrick Elwood Kaiser, Early Worship, 1990s

As scissors snip by my ears
gray hairs fall to the floor;
circling me round
like the yellowing leaves
beneath the maple,
or my tears…
Death lurks at every step
and yet I feel the tug of resurrection
as I hope for a grandson’s cure,
for our children’s futures,
and for that Spring when we all shall
sprout and rise and blossom,
into those beings the Creator intended
us to be in the first place.
The story does not end with God’s heart aching
at what has befallen his creation,
hands freshly soiled
from planting his only Seed in the dark tomb,
but with the heavy stone rolled away,
as the risen Lord emerges bringing the light
to tug us toward fullness of life.
Lent is a time to quiet ourselves
and feel that pull.

                           —Martha Kaiser