Reading for December 16: Isaiah 61:1-3 and Matthew 3:13-17
Reflection: The Most Beautiful Contradiction (A Poem)
Jesus is a contradiction,
Which is why, throughout history,
Many have held him in derision.
Others stretched their minds
As they tried to comprehend the story,
Of this One, Christ -
Son of Man, Son of Glory.
He was born in meager estate
To a poor household,
A carpenter by trade
In the town of Nazareth,
A blip on a map.
An unassuming fellow
Who stirred up quite some trouble
Doing things that ought not be done:
Healing lame beggars on the Sabbath,
Turning over tables in the temple.
Filled with the Holy Spirit from conception
This man was very different from Adam,
The first God-breathed human invention.
Jesus, the Second Adam, perfect in righteousness
Flipped history on its head
To make beauty out of our mess.
He gave good news to the poor
And proclaimed liberty to the captives.
He gave comfort to all who mourned
And beauty instead of ashes,
Oil of gladness and a garment of praise
To replace a spirit suffering malaise.
He came to bind up the brokenhearted
And unbind hearts that were bound,
To the praise of His Father,
For His glorious renown!
Lest I get carried away,
Let me back it up and break it down,
Because there's more to Christ than time
To put to rhyme and sound.
Christ was humble to the very core;
He lived to do his Father's will –
Nothing less, nothing more.
What is the Father's will, you ask?
Look at Christ, and see the Father's heart:
To create a people all His own,
Redeemed, restored, reconciled with their God.
Adoptees, ransomed by Christ
Who shed His own precious blood,
Knowing and growing in fellowship with our Savior,
Saved from final judgment by Christ's perfect behavior.
Fulfilling the law was Christ's primary concern;
Setting sinners free from the punishment they'd earned.
Obedient unto death,
Chastisement He did not spurn.
People came to him for free handouts of bread,
He said He would give them Himself, free, instead
AND. SO. HE. DID.
Son of God and Son of Man,
For us He became Sin
While still the Great I AM
Taking upon Himself the guilt of every man
Who would believe in Him.
One day the heavens opened up
And a voice boomed from the sky:
"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
The voice was his Father, who gave Christ up to die
So that we could be sons and daughters of the Most High.
John the Baptist, along with the befuddled crowd,
Couldn't quite wrap their minds around what they'd just found:
The Messiah, the Chosen One, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords,
The Son of God and the Carpenter of Nazareth –
The most beautiful contradiction...
Summarized in unity and perfection.
Sarah M. Bosse
12/10/2013
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