The Son of God does not come to free us
Not from the physicality of this world – broken!
Broken as it may be
Instead he steps through the proverbial door
between Heaven and earth
And he remains
He remains permanently bound up with the stuff of creation
Permanently bound up with you and I
For the sake of this world’s transformation
For your sake and for mine
We paint pictures of heaven that look
Like we’ve commissioned Thomas Kinkade
The lighting is always soft
Like a partially cloudy spring day
The sun’s beams break through
Never overpowering, never dark
Winter, spring, summer or fall
There’s always a sense of warmth
The change of seasons –
If there is any change in seasons – is gentle
We imagine salvation
Like Kinkade paints a cottage or cabin
Nestled in-between lush wooded areas and flowing streams
Pleasure and leisure not shelter from the storm
As if our true life begins beyond the cabin door
But the salvation declared in this book
Conferred upon us by this Spirit
Nurtured in us at this table
It looks more like an early van Gogh
“The Potato Eaters.”
“The Potato Eaters” gather -Together
By single light of burning lamp
Dirty, tired, hungry
Energy has been spent
Spent on a day plowing the field
A day working for their food
The light is dim
Faces are dirty coarse and dark
But we should make no mistake
This is what we were created to do
Before God said this ground is cursed
God instructed till this ground
Before God pronounced tension between she and he
God said he should not be alone
Before God said they will labor by the sweat of their brow
God said the seed bearing plants and herbs are here for you
It is into this world of dirt and sweat
Spit and blood
Bodies and food that Jesus comes
And he does not come to free us
He does not come to take us away
Away from the tables at which we gather
But rather in his stay
He is poured out
He is poured out for our sake
Not to become a bridge to another world
But to be the food and drink that sustains
The food and drink that transforms this life
The life of the world to come
The life that begins today

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I presented this piece before the Reformed Church of America, Classis of Holland of Holland MI on May 24, 2011. It was was prepared and read aloud as part of my oral exam on the sacraments.