Seeds

Today, I’d like to share a poem I wrote. It was commissioned by Northminister Presbyterian Church in Endwell, New York. It is based on Matthew 8:31-38.

Seeds
He speaks to us in parables:
Very truly, I say to you,
Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies,
it remains just a single grain;
but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

At once, we easily feel
the weight of this,
the fear of this,
the loss,
the decay,
the bereavement.

Yet the very one acquainted
with all of these in his body,
knows his Body —

the Community,
the Family,
the Kin-dom
that we are.

We are the fruits
of his love laid down.
We are the fruits
of his love lived forward.
He speaks the parable,
and we embody its truth,
we who are
present,
living,
listening.

He speaks to us in sacred invitation:
If any want to become my followers,
let them deny themselves
and take up their cross and follow me.

We can accompany him on this lenten journey
of love laid down,
of love lived forward.

And though we may feel
the weight of this,
the fear of this,
the loss,
the decay,
the bereavement,

Who might we hold within us?
Who might we carry?
Who might we birth?

the Community,
the Family,
the Kin-dom,
ever expansive,
always born anew —
always
present,
living,
listening.

–Renee Roederer