BY AVELLINA BALESTRI

“We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over Him.” Romans 6:9

And who are we,

Jews within

And Gentiles without,

Worshipping in the Temple,

Or clamoring in the courtyard?

Who are we, under the Law,

With its measuring rod,

And swinging scythe,

Condemning us equally?

We are creatures of custom

People of principle,

Through carved commands

Or harrowed up hearts.

Look at us, with covetous eyes

And crimson hands,

And the apple’s inheritance.

We hate the evil we do,

And the good we fail to do.

Owed nothing,

Whether circumcised in flesh

Or sealed in Spirit,

We wander, dying dim

Among the mute multitudes.

And what are we?

And what came we to find?

We, the Children of Adam,

The Sire of Sheol,

And the grave’s gloom,

What is our hope in the Law?

O vanity of vanities, our boast!

O wreckless folly, our endeavor!

Yet take thou heart…

Death has come to us

And saves us from Decay

For the Spirit is given up

And the Curtain rends.

Though we were asleep

He has woken us;

Though unworthy

He has justified us.

The debt is paid and poured,

The blood smeared on the doorpost,

And Old Adam is made New,

The Gardener transformed.

He has not been overcome by Evil,

But overcome Evil with Good.

Behold the Man,

And be interred with Him

As He was interred with us.

Rise with Him at dawn

And put on fresh garments.

Now who are we,

Slain without,

Yet living within?

And what are we,

Heirs of Suffering,

Children of Glory?

We groan with Creation,

Like a Wild Olive Shoot.