top of page
Writer's pictureRev. Dr. Billy Burch

Peter's Crescendo


calvary

I came willingly, curious, confident when I first followed Him off the docks

I came willingly, crashing, crushed when watching Him carry the cross

I watched as throngs of people gathered to see my friend my rabbi

I watched as rulers and leaders pronounced guilt when innocent

I remembered the sadness when he prayed in the garden

I remember the soldier who grabbed Jesus and the kiss

I noticed the darkness and torches and hopelessness

I noticed the change so abruptly over the last days

I listened as the soldiers and onlookers mocked

I listened as the crowds shouted “Barabbas”

I stared at His flesh peeled by the whips

I stared at the drops of blood falling

I felt each blow of the hammer

I felt each word He spoke

“Why, God? Why this?”

“Why so forsaken?”

And He breaths

His last gasp

“Finished”

For me

But…

Why?

Did He

Love me

In the way

He did when

I did deny Him

I knew He knew

He stared through

Me as I saw his eyes

Pain and sadness as I

Was part of the problem

But, even so I stared at His

Eyes as He hung there and I

Saw in the middle of the pain a

Love and I am undone because I

Feel I don’t deserve it yet somehow

Willing to receive, confident to receive

But He died and I hid and I keep hiding

Until the women came back at sunrise on

The morning of the third day with what was

Surely nonsense frantic and saying that Jesus

Body was not there and that an angel said what

Sounded remarkable, wonderful, but unbelievable

That He is alive and I needed to see for myself so I

Ran and ran fast and looked in for myself and stared

Inside and saw the cloth we buried him in undisturbed

And the cloth on his face folded in the corner as if there

Was no need for it anymore and I was mixed with wonder

And fear and confusion and hope and incredulity and others

Needed to know and I told them and not having any idea what

To do I hid and we all hid and waited and prayed and talked and

Tried to reason and right in the middle of that intense conversation

He appeared! And He spoke! And He encouraged! And he was alive

And it began to all make sense that Jesus was more than our rabbi or

Prophet that He was God in the flesh and you can’t kill God and all the

Predictions came true and I don’t know what this means right at this very

Moment but hope rises! And whatever else it means I know it means He is

Alive at this very moment and gave me a second chance for me to tell Him I

Loved Him and He gave me a second chance to feed the sheep He so dearly

Loves and my life has changed and it is all because of this second chance and

All because He is alive right now with me and for me and through me and… and…

123 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page