Ready to Party

But when the king came in to see the guests, 

he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, 

'Friend, how did you get in here 

without a wedding robe?' 

And he was speechless. 

Then the king said to the attendants, 

'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him 

 into the outer darkness, 

where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen. 

 - Matthew 22:11-14

Your parabolic outer darkness does not scare me off

O tough and craggy Jesus who pushes us harder than

milquetoast indulgent Jesus of our adolescent imaginations

Your vivid stereoscopes of weeping and gnashing teeth

do not intimidate us like some mob threats or politicians

pulling every parliamentary stunt to get what they want

How can you, Risen One, panic anyone who reads you well

who already knows the weighty black of outer darkness

who has cried all tears to dryness and ground teeth to nubs

The only thing left is your white robe offer at the party door

handed freely to all for the revelry of your love supreme

that slips on as easy as vintage wine trickles down the throat

only a frozen statue who never suffered would say no I will not

only a proud man who insisted on life on his own terms shuns it

only a woman who feared most to be out of style tosses it aside

but we who have tried life on our own terms for too long

who suffered every addiction and endless anxious days alone

we who are already naked wear it gladly to the feast of now