The dead man came out,
his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth,
and his face wrapped in a cloth.
Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
—John 11.44
The call of God
is stronger than death;
the word of God is breathing itself.
I have been called into life,
raised from the dead,
saved by the mercy of the Beloved.
And still I walk trailing grave clothes,
face wrapped in a preserving veil,
feet bound in fear of decay, hope of eternity.
I walk still in death’s skin, hear muffled,
speak from under cover, see through a shroud,
drink the wine through moldering cloth.
Set me free now from all that still binds me,
strips of the past anticipating a future, shielding
me from moving, changing, touching, seeing.
Saved but still bound, I need you. Name the self
deeper than the wrappings they see.
Give me this breath, this light, this moment.
From what I fear, from what still holds me
unbind me, Love.
Set me free.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net
March 27, 2020