With loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand. (Luke 23:23-24)
No law can withstand human demands.
No governor forestalls foregone conclusions.
We stand amidst the crowd, shouting
For the death of our God to satisfy
Our anger. With no words for the crowd
And no words for Pilate, Jesus submits
Meekly to the grinding gears. No tears
Now from the King who is not of this world.
No harsh rebuke of a holy and awesome God.
No one leaps to His aid. No angels fall
From the skies. No one stops what has now
Been set into motion. The cold, cruel world
Reaches out for destruction, but still,
Even still, there is divine intention.
Hidden within and without from our eye,
God is working, transforming our reality.
This is the third in a group of seven original poems composed for Holy Week, including:
Renovate 