Paradox

Paradox
Easter 5; John 13:31-35
When Judas left and walked into the night,
and Jesus knew that he would be denied,
betrayed, abandoned to his plight,
he said that he and God were glorified.
It seems a paradox to human eyes
that glory is revealed in pain and death,
but this is the transformative surprise
of new creation, shaped by Spirit breath.
He spoke of love to friends about to fail:
“Love one another as I love you all.”
His love will bear the shock of driven nail,
and theirs the grief of loss and shame of fall.
He died with arms stretched wide in love’s embrace,
breathed out in his last breath God’s gift of grace.
	Barbara Messner 11/05/2022