nicodemus
When he first heard the words,
he was the first to hear them:
“You must be born again.”
He was old and the metaphor
muddled his mind: go back
into my mother’s womb--
at this age?
Jesus, however, was not about
to forsake his role as midwife.
There in the darkness, he called
the old man to think of something
other than dying, to let his heart
hear he was the one whom
God so loved.
When my grandfather died,
he was only five years older
than I am right now, maybe no
older than Nicodemus that night.
What kills us all in bits and pieces
is living as though love is earned;
birth is a gift.
The God who birthed the universe
has chosen to spend everyday
since in labor, in the pain of
birth and rebirth, a tenacious
expression of love, a ferocious
gift of grace we cannot deserve,
only receive.
Peace,
Milton
7 comments:
Thanks, Milton, for taking a passage so familiar we hardly hear it and letting it speak again.
Oh, wonderful. thanks.
This is beautiful and painful. I cannot express how much this means to me right now. One of my dearest friends died today, and my prayer is that he will now know what it means "to let his heart hear that he was the one whom God so loved."
You always find the words that make my heart listen up and take notice, Milton. Thank you.
think of something
other than dying
That's good advice for us all.
Having given birth, I understand the gift part. Interestingly, I think that both parties labor... mother and babe, God and soul.
This is beautiful, and so powerful. I've kept this window open on my computer all day and keep returning to it. "a tenacious / expression of love, a ferocious / gift of grace" -- wonderful. Thank you!
this is so hard to overcome: "What kills us all in bits and pieces
is living as though love is earned;
birth is a gift." Because we insist upon living our way rather than accepting the truth that it has already been taken care of on our behalf.
Post a Comment