The Shadows: Burial

These poems are from a poetry workshop we had at our church. They are based on the Seven Shadows of the Cross: Betrayal, Desertion, Unshared Vigil, Accusation, Crucifixion, Death, Burial. 

For this one, we again were supposed to follow the pattern of the song "Were You There?" as we built this poem. Our first line had to be "Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?" Our last line had to be "sometimes it causes me to ..." The song ends with "tremble," but we were encouraged to use a different word to end it.

BURIAL

Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
I am most comfortable with the entombed Jesus
The dying Jesus is too painful to think about
Dwelling on what He went through sickens me
The resurrected Jesus is too convicting to contemplate
Realizing what He represents shames me 
If He is dying, then I am faced with what I did to put Him there
If He is living, then I am faced with what I should be doing now
It is much more comfortable to leave Him in the tomb. 
Out of sight, out of mind
I am alleviated of my guilt, and I am not called to do anything
I am free from the Law, and I am free to live how I want
I don’t have to worry about the wrathful God, and I don’t have to worry about the sanctimonious Apostle Paul
I like Jesus in the tomb.
He is still the hero of the story, and I get to be the hero of mine.
All of the benefits, none of the responsibilities 
All of the grace, none of the expectations
All of the victory, none of the difficulties
I prefer Him dead because I don’t want to live like He’s alive.
Sometimes it causes me to cringe

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