The temple torn down
The curtain rent
The slain lamb
The offering priest
The pleasing sacrifice
Clothed in white linen
Anointed with fragrant oils
The suspended bridge over
The valley of death
The king in his beauty enthroned
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maundy thursday: the true vine.
You were torn down,
Crushed and poured out
As a sign of the new promise
Of God that makes all the old ones come true
All our rocks and thorns
Breaking Your body
So that we could drink deep
Of Your goodness to us
holy wednesday: the good shepherd.
Tonight it seems the roles are reversed:
We prepared a table for You just down
The road from your enemies
Fragrant oil for Your head
Salt water for Your feet
Right before You throw Yourself
Headlong into the valley of death
To rescue all of Your lost sheep
And bring them home rejoicing
holy tuesday: the door for the sheep.
They had stood in the doorways
And blocked up the halls
With stacks on stacks of regulations
Meant to keep out the riff raff
You cleared out the clutter
And tore yourself in two
A rending of time and matter and space
A new entrance to the new temple
holy monday: the light of the world.
Why keep the light
Inside of these four walls
When there are folks outside in the dark
Clear out the clutter
And let them come in and see
Glory where there was none
Tear open the veil
Take the fire outside
Let the people come near
And see the presence of God
Descend once again to His temple
To shine on us again
palm sunday: the bread of life.
“Save us” they prayed
They wanted a king that would give them bread
That would fill their hunger
That would break the cycle of their poverty
That would break the cycles of their oppression
Here comes Jesus, the Son of David
And the city’s stones shout underneath the people
That their rightful King has returned
To come into His kingdom at last
He will fill them at last
With the tearing of His flesh
He will rule the world
From a splintered throne
While the city watches
His blood spill outside its gates
thursday 13
This week: 13 email newsletters I subscribe to.
1. Daily Skimm (news)
2. Poem of the Day (what it says in the title)
3. The List (events happening in downtown Houston)
4. Morning Brew (business news–I subscribe in an effort to learn more about economics)
5. Any New Books (tells you which books have been released that week in different subject areas)
6. A bunch of different ones from the New York Times: Your Money, Cooking, Five Weeknight Dishes, Open Thread, Running (I don’t really know why, I think it was out of some desire to start running even though I hate it), Smarter Living, Well, Books, Theater Update, and Travel. (I have an online subscription to the NYT, so I don’t get paywalled by all the articles they link to in the newsletters.)
7. It’s Not Hou It’s Me (stuff going on in Houston, not just downtown)
8. EnneaThought from the Enneagram Institute for type 4 and type 5, which never fails to make me grimace in recognition every morning
9. All of Book Riot‘s billion and one newsletters
10. The Financial Diet (financial advice for and by millennials)
11. Two Bossy Dames (two friends write about culture and self-care and all kinds of things; much better than how I am selling it right now)
12. Vox Sentences (news)
13. My church’s bulletin.
