Redemption's Drama A Holy Week poem by Rev. Greg Asimakoupoulos
A moonlit garden is the stage.
A monologue is heard.
The Actor is a humbled King
whose mission seems absurd.
"Can I decline this bitter cup?
Or must I drain its dregs?
Is there no way to dodge this death?"
He barters, balks and begs.
His silhouetted form is seen
hunched flat against a stone.
Perspiring blood, reduced to tears,
he feels so all alone.
Divine? Ah, yes. But also man.
Afraid of what's to come
A Roman cross. His Father's wrath.
Disowned as Heaven's Son.
A serpent slithers through the trees
and catches Jesus' eye.
That slimy image ends debate.
He knows that he must die.
"The curse of Eden must be quelled.
Both sin and shame expunged.
The rebel angel cannot win,
though now he thinks he's won."
With anguished sighs, the Actor speaks
while perched on trembling knees.
"Not my will, Father. Yours be done!
I want You to be pleased."
The die's been cast. The deal's been struck.
He's signed off on the price.
Redemption's drama will proceed
through willing sacrifice.
A haunting script. A chilling scene.
No puppetry or strings.
This play was work. A free man's choice
to end our suffering.
The test he faced was not a farce.
He could have given in.
But, God be praised, Christ drank the cup
and swallowed all our sin.
by Greg Asimakoupoulos
Rhymes and Reasons
--Copyright 2007 by Rev. Greg Asimakoupoulos,
Mercer Island, WA.
Rhymes 'n Reasons, The Partial Observer.