​11/26/2019
A poem by Jon Elvrum

It is You whom I see
pinned,
nailed to the cross
dying there for me
even as He
is dying there for you.

It is exactly this moment
that has called out to me
these more than twenty centuries later.

See now, the moment when the sky grows dark
dark as the moment seems
as dark as the moment feels.

I see that He has given
nearly everything for us,
to achieve our salvation,
yours and mine.
He has nearly nothing left to give...yet He is not finished.

He thirsts for our redemption
for our reclamation and salvation;
yours
mine
all the lives of everyone still lost
all those still unredeemed.

I thirst, He said

Among the seven last words recorded
His words remembered,
His words written down
there can be found
these two
pain-filled words...

            I thirst...

and a soldier squeezes vinegar
into a sponge,
lifts it up on spear's point

history does not know
if this was just more abuse
or a sad attempt to offer help,
even misbegotten help ...
an attempt to offer something... anything
that might assuage the dryness,
relieve the parched throat;
soothe the broken body;
something offered
when no other thing
seemed available to give.

Lord, I see that you
rejected the sponge
as soon as you knew
it was not the water that You intended
it was not the Living Water
that You offered the woman at the well
not the Revelation water
the Holy Water, water meant to redeem
water meant to restore;
not the water from the rock at Meribah
that kept the earliest of the Chosen
together, even in their deepest disarray.

It has always been about water...
The creation story tells
about all was water
then water divided, earth formed;
water mixed with earth
used to form Adam.
It was always about Your thirst for us
always about Your love for us
about Your desire that we be obedient
that we come to the water
that we come to You for
baptism by water,
water for relief
water for forgiveness
for healing,
for cleansing,
for repair,
water for redemption.

I thirst, He said...
"Come," He said, "all who are heavy laden and I will refresh you."
He offers us His water to drink...

The old song says it:

"Come to the water.
Stand by my side.
I know you are thirsty.
You won't be denied..."

He said it first to us, first for us.

I thirst, He said.
We should be obedient.
We should be thirsty.
We should come to the water, His water.
And we should drink deep!
He thirsts for us. SELAH!
Amen

What is meant by the promise of God?
God's promises are His word:
  Intended for us
  meant for us to consider
  for us to meditate upon
  finally, for us to believe
  whole-heartedly in God's son
  believe in JESUS, the Christ;
  which is to do with all our hearts
  mind and soul
  all that He says.
And what does He say to us?
He says that the Kingdom of Heaven
  is near
He tells us not to be afraid
He invites us to come...
He asks us to follow Him
  wherever He leads us.
He promises He will never leave us,
nor forsake us
we will never be abandoned by Him
for the only inescapable reason,
for one undeniable truth,
because of His Father's love
and His Father's will
we are secure in our position.
  Thanks to God's promise
  and God's provision
We can believe the promise ,
we can embrace the provision
We are free to join Him
in His new life for us,
free in wholeness,
new in our restored beauty,
in the final, full dimension
of His perfect newness
as He told us when our conversation
of promise commenced,
when we first explored
the premise of His promise,
when we began by understanding first, His Incredible Sacrifice
and it's stunning result,
how Christ was broken for us,
How He was broken by us,
broken because of us.
In His suffering we are complicit,
as our sins are taken
and laid upon His already broken body
adding to His pain
the additional weight of our own sins.
 
  We are not afraid for we know the Kingdom of God is here
  For we have come,
now knowing; we are glad to be here
where His promises are no longer the subject of faith
  But are now the very substance
of our new eternity.
  Us resting forever in His promise,
  knowing it is true.
  That IS Believing,
  and
I believe it IS true.
 
  Is it also true with you?

Be not afraid! 
The Kingdom of God is near.
Come and follow.
Reach out and taste His love,
feel His presence.
Believe He has called you to Himself.
Draw near to Him, be reconciled.
Do not be afraid! He has come, and He will come again!
Alongside His perfect life,
He has laid His perfect promise.
Rejoice.
Believe.
Amen.

  A poem by Jon Elvrum,
  September, 2019