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Kinkade’s Cabin Door or the Potato Eaters Table?
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
all together separate
there are demons in the closet
whose names i no longer want to know
once thought if i could confront them one by one
the past would let me go
but living in a past that exists only in my worst dreams
has had me dying slow
so if its all up to me now
then i’ll hold out my palms to let it all go
but i can’t bear this burden all alone
maybe that’s never what you intended
all i need is you to say my name
all i need is your breath, your flesh, your vision
we are saved together; but apart?
apart i’ll be damned if we’re not damned
and i’ve never been good at the role i was handed
of sacrificial lamb
but mother, god forgive her
my father is still here and i can
but damn if i don’t spit and sputter
and still withhold my hand
and i can’t bear this burden all alone
that was never what was intended
ear pressed, listening for my name
its cold enough to see my breath but still no vision
there are demons in every closet
who lie in wait for last of days
we thought we had their number
’till we were forced to see through their gaze
our hearts are infinitely connected
but temporarily broken in our stay
but when we’ve been there 10,000 years
its here we’ll catch the rays
and i wont bear this burden all alone
but i know that’s not what you intended
when i hear you say my name
i wonder if perhaps it could be enough just to listen
