Happy Easter and happy almost April!! I wanted to share a poem with you guys!! I wrote it Sunday night when I was really just thinking a lot because this year felt so different from past Easters. Something felt wrong but I was still doing the same basic thing I'd always done for the holiday that is supposed to be designed for celebrating that Jesus rose from the grave.
Disclaimer: the words of this poem might and probably will be considered offensive to some people. It's not pointed at anyone and I am not blaming or judging anybody in this poem. However, I am shamelessly calling out what I believe to be an oversight in the church and I honestly don't really care if that's offensive to people.
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Oops, I forgot to take an Easter selfie yesterday and post it on the Internet with #heisrisen
so all can see I love Jesus because that's all Easter is, isn't it,
wait, Easter is the family picture, dressed to the nines, in front of our church,
reminding the world that our family is perfect,
that's all it's about.
It couldn't be about the homeless man who walked up the street
a few minutes after you stepped in to find a seat
in an air conditioned room to listen to a sweet concert
and hear the story again that Jesus died to make a way
then he rose from the grave and he still lives today
But it can't be about that guy outside too,
when he smells too bad to step foot in that room,
you say God is risen but this man feels like he's in a tomb
and he's starving for something more than just food
but he probably didn't eat today either,
but it's okay because you did and this is about you.
Jesus forgave you for your sin
And he made you alive inside again
And he gave you a home to live in
And he let you take that for granted again
Because Easter is about you, right?
Jesus even died to give you new life!
But he gave that guy outside new life also
and he pays attention to him and loves him with all of his heart
so much that he died,
And if this message moves you
maybe you'll give your church fund some money,
maybe even go outside and slip him a twenty,
But aren't you gonna ask him his name? Learn about his journey in life?
Pull him up from his darkness and share with him new life,
Even if it means you'll be late to family night,
All I'm saying is isn't Easter supposed to be about sacrifice?
I think Jesus is missing not just from the tomb
but maybe from our churches and hearts a bit too
I'm not trying to be pretentious.
I'm still learning to walk my talk
and live the words I give
and reach out the same way I preach out
but sometimes I've got to saying it
so I can start making it happen
and prove my words have actions.
What if we start dying to live
and trying to give light to those in darkness?
Show em His heart for the heartless,
maybe they'll see after all it isn't religion we worship
it's the change in our lives that makes Jesus more than worth it to us
to give up more than just our Sunday mornings to dress up
while we mess up the rest of the week
away from the eyes of the people
but the eyes of the father still see.
We are all homeless
if Christ's tomb was still full.
We would all be out in that cold
world so many people are living in,
they're really missing living in two homes;
a home for their body but also a home for their heart
that's why maybe we should think about starting
to sacrifice a bit of ours to help them find both.
But this point can't be contained in a single blog post
so I pray it reaches deeper past just mere words
but transforms people who can then transform the world.
-MB
