(This is a poem I wrote 21 years ago based upon 1 Corinthians 15:7. The Hebrew form of the name “James” is “Jacob.”)
And what now?
Now that I am here again.
Now that you have seen me. What now?
Will you fight me like our scheming ancestor?
What now then?
Oh yes. You recognize the hands of the artisan.
Those same old scars and some new ones. See?
Like me, you bore Joseph’s mallet, adze, and rule.
You, too, learned his craft.
And you know me!
Where were you when our mother watched me die?
You were not there to help her grieve.
From the treasures of her heart, she could have told
from where I came and where I go.
But you would not believe.
You thought me mad.
Now you wonder if you, the other,
are mad. This is not madness. This is a miracle!
Like Jacob, you have seen God face to face
in the face of your brother.
