The old, rugged cross

made for glory
in crystal and ivory;
god’s gory death in the
creative imagination;
torture transformed into
breathtaking beauty;

 
would he
tear down our totems,
turn over tables,
whip us weeping into
the the night at the sight
of his pain reframed?

 
such foolishness;
whispering, “scandalous,”
we shun him
for blasphemy

inspired by a reflection by the Revd Dr Harold Lewis, interim rector at St Paul’s Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, Ohio

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About Rosalind C Hughes

Rosalind C Hughes is an Episcopal priest, poet, and author living near the shores of Lake Erie. After growing up in England and Wales, and living briefly in Singapore, she is now settled in Ohio. Rosalind is the author of A Family Like Mine: Biblical Stories of Love, Loss, and Longing , and Whom Shall I Fear? Urgent Questions for Christians in an Age of Violence, both from Upper Room Books. She loves the lake, misses the ocean, and is finally coming to terms with snow.
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