The Reverend Nigel Coatsworth (retired) who led the Easter Day service at Ss. Simon & Jude Church Cockshutt introduced us to this poem. He explained:
“This poem grew out of our Lenten group study of John 18, where Caiaphas tries to get Pilate to put Jesus to death, and Pilate keeps batting him back. At first sight it looks like a game of tennis, with a final “game, set and match” to Caiaphas; but on second look, it is something more deadly for the players, both of whom see Jesus as a serious threat to their positions of power, with neither of them wanting to be left holding the parcel when the music stops”.
LOVE – EXPLOSION
A deadly game of Pass the Parcel,
as Jesus is tossed to and fro,
from Caiaphas to Pilate and back again, as though
he were a ticking time-bomb, a primed grenade,
that could destroy their way of life,
their privilege and power,
bring tumbling down their house of cards,
like a Jenga-tower.
Flogged, condemned and crucified, buried in a tomb,
earthly powers think that they have no more to fear,
no longer live in terror of their impending doom.
Yet two days later, silently, secretly, known to but a few,
the bomb does indeed explode, an explosion so cataclysmic, it reverberates throughout the universe:
greater than the meteorite that did for the dinosaurs,
far greater than Hiroshima, where thousands died
to bring an end to strife;
an explosion of love, not hate, bringing not death but life.
In the garden, on the road, beside the Galilean Sea,
Jesus is present, standing, waiting, content to be:
to Mary he is the gardener, to Cleopas a lonely traveller,
to Simon Peter a stranger on the beach,
inviting them to speak, that each
might share with him their sadness and their struggles,
their fears and their deepest wish:
“Why are you weeping?”.
“What were you discussing?”
“Friends, have you any fish?”
To each he speaks as a friend, calling them by name,
“Mary! “ “Simon!” – in an instant, hearts a-flame,
they cry out: “Master!” “Lord, I love you!” In a word
they know him, risen from death to life,
there before them waiting – Jesus, belovéd Lord.
The love-explosion is within them, their hearts set alight
by so powerful a flame of love, awesome, bright,
blazing in their darkness, banishing despair,
knowing the Lord is with them, his presence everywhere.
That first Easter, from the depths of God’s own being,
emerged a tsunami, not of death but of life,
not of destruction but of healing, of love, not hate,
a tsunami so tremendous, so great, that still
it travels round the world, our emptiness to fill,
as from heart to heart this powerful pulse of love
onward ever flows:
breaking down strongholds, setting people free,
opening blind eyes that they may see
what makes for the peace all seek;
toppling the mighty from their thrones,
raising up the humble and meek;
healing, renewing, making alive,
bringing change and transformation
to individuals, institutions, communities and nations.
And still, Lord, you are with us, standing in our midst,
that we be still enough to notice you,
attentive to your voice,
prepared to share our inmost selves, and invite you in,
as Cleopas welcomed you to his home
that first Easter evening;
that together we may with you break bread,
be by your Word and by your Body fed,
in your presence rest, by your love be blessed,
You in us and we in You; ‘til, energised anew,
we thrill to tell the world: “I’ve seen the Lord!”
Surely, You are with us,
from death You’re risen indeed;
standing now among us,
with eyes of love beholding,
awaiting on our word,
desiring we be one with You,
Master , Friend, Servant, King
Almighty God and Lord.
NGC, Easter 2023
Feature Image: Brooklyn_Museum_-Jesus_Led_from_Caiaphas_to_Pilate(Jésus_conduit_de_Caïphe_àPilate)-_James_Tissot, Wikicommons, PD.