Friday, April 22, 2011

 

Haiku Good Friday: Light in the Darkness


The profoundly dark experience of prosecuting Christ this past week has transformed the way I see Good Friday. There is a rhythm to trial, and there is one to this, too

This is a day (the day of Jesus's crucifixion) that marks the worst in us, our darkest moment, but there is hope in it, too. Without Good Friday, there is no Easter. I am struck, for the first time, with a sense of thankfulness for Good Friday, which is a part of the cycle God directed, part of the cycle we all live within and through, and there is always the hope for an Easter. In my prosecution of Christ, that cycle was run in full recently, from the moment I entered the dank tunnel of cynicism through to the day I was "HoCo'd"-- that is, when I felt the intense, pure and true love of the people of the Church of the Holy Comforter (HoCo) in Richmond this past Sunday.

Last night, I went to a Seder at the home of my colleague Joel Nichols and his wife Jennifer, and they did a wonderful job with it. There was a lot to celebrate-- Joel won a big St. Thomas award recently for his scholarship (his book is about to be published by Cambridge University Press), and Susan Stabile was there having recently heard that her next book will be published by the Oxford University Press. I'm the slacker in this crowd, obviously.

We ate the bitter herbs, heard the questions and the answers, drank the four cups, and mixed hardship with joy, the cycle of life ancient and undenied.

In the end, of course, I come away with thankfulness. I want to haiku about that tonight. You can be thankful about anything you would like... just have the first line be "For this I give thanks," followed by (about) seven syllables, and a third line of five (give or take) syllables.

Here is mine:

For this I give thanks:
Bitter roots, longing, and love
Unleavened hope.

Now it is your turn...

Comments:
For this I give thanks:
No more Practice Court, oh yes!
Why did I come here?
 
For this I give thanks:
Last Supper, new commandment,
love one another.

For this I give thanks:
Good Friday, the least shallow
day of the year, then . . .

For this I give thanks:
Sabbath rest, waiting, weeping,
the longest of days.

For this I give thanks:
On this night our Lord Jesus
passed from death to life.

For this I give thanks:
Vigil, newly kindled fire,
rejoice now and sing.
 
For this I give thanks:
Friends with whom to share it all--
the sadness and the joy.
 
For this I give thanks:
No longer running away.
In church this Easter.
 
For this I give thanks:
The lifting of voices as one
Expression in song.
 
For this I give thanks:
bad pay, thankless work, deaf courts
God's in there somewhere
 
For this I give thanks:
Movement, warm light, small moments
And awakenings.
 
Gorgeous renewal of spring -
no superstitious baggage
enjoying the freedom

Lee

not a very good poet - sorry!
 
For this I give thanks:
The Good Friday childhood
Gave way to Easter.
 
For this I give thanks:
Anon's haiku above me
It's a quote from Paul.
 
For this I give thanks:
Faith beyond superstition
The God who is there.
 
For this I give thanks
Three loving, happy children
for their health and love
 
For this I give thanks
I always eat the ears first
Chocolate Bunny!
 
For this I give thanks:
a new son, promoting the
first to big brother.
 
FOr this I give thanks
health, a great husband, great kid,
fun loyal great friends.

Could not ask for more than this!
 
IPLAW: Awesome!!! :):):)
You are a GREAT DAD!!!
 
For this I give thanks:
I don't have to move alone
But I know I could.
 
Neil Alan Willard, will you please write a book of poetry? Stunning. Beautiful.
 
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