May we keep Jesus on the cross
On the cross for just a little longer.
To contemplate his marred body
The gruesomeness of our sins.
May we keep Jesus on the cross
Looking upon whom we pierced
Remember that for us his naked body helpless hung.
May we for just a little longer
Gaze upon the redness of his blood
Let his cry of agony ring in our ears
The sound of the executioner’s hammer clanging on the head of that nail,
Piercing into the flesh of the sinless Godman
Made sin because of me, condemned because of you.
May we keep our eyes fixed on the lamb whose throat was slit to seal our redemption.
Easter indeed lies on the horizon
But brothers and sisters, how might we rightly rejoice in Easter if we hurriedly
as one embarrassed exit the scene of Golgotha’s ghastly execution.
Oh that we might linger at the bloody cross just a little longer
Until our sins we SEE nailed to that cross.
O. Oladipo.
Inspired by the crucifix at Ascension Church. Written in the train from Stratford to Lea Bridge.
