An upper room

After Luke 22:7-13

He sends them to find

a place, a room for the meal,

the meal to remember

the passing of the angel

of death over the dwellings,

sparing those with a splash

of lamb’s blood on the door.

They gather each year,

ss commanded, with family,

a quiet, somber gathering

to remember the escape

from death, a celebration

of death avoided, death

redeemed, life secured.

 

They find the room,

as directed, furnished

and prepared for the meal.

They gather to remember

the sacrifice of the lamb.

 

Photograph by George Desipris via Unsplash. Used with permission.

A prayer

After John 17:13

It’s near the end, or

the beginning, the time

in the garden, night.

Alone; a prayer from the knowing

of what is to come in less

than a day, and the knowing

leads to the prayer.

I am coming.

I am coming to you.

I am coming to you now.

So, among the last things

to say, here at the end,

a prayer for them, those

sleeping and those not yet

awake, those flawed vessels,

for them, and not only

for the joy to be within them,

but for the full measure of my joy

to be within them. 

They will be hated by this world,

but, and it’s a huge but,

they will find joy, my joy,

within and always.

Photograph by Alex Woods via Unsplash. Used with permission.