Once and for All

The stone’s rolled away,

Sunlight lies beyond,

But there’s comfort inside the tomb.

Dark and small,

I’ve made it my home.

Mistakes I’ve made lie like a body wrapped in clothes of shame.

I retell stories that keep it dark,

Stories that keep me small.

Better to stay in the tomb, I cry, and point to the light.

Easier to dream of a resurrected life than live it,

And sing of grace I’ve only heard about.

And yet life beyond the tomb beckons.

It’s the life that belongs to God, not me,

Of God’s creating, not mine.

Its light blinds, and horizon overwhelms,

But, somehow, I must follow.

The risen life waits for me (and you) as it always has.

Like a gift, I must rise and walk out to receive it,

Out of the darkness and into the light,

Out from the known into the unknown,

Out from death into life,

Out from false into true,

Once and for all.