Partly inspired by my Hebrew studies, I’m writing 12 poems inspired by 12 Hebrew verbs.
The verb ישׁע / yasha is indirectly familiar to many Christians because it’s the root of names like Joshua and Jesus, both of which mean ‘the LORD saves.’ (Hence Gabriel’s instruction to Joseph: “you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 NIV)
There are some interesting things I learned here.
Continue reading The God who saves (a poem)
For lent 2022, I’m writing six duologues between Samuel and other people in the Bible, all on the theme of living with conflict. The duologues are taking longer than I’d hoped to write, so this week I offer a poem instead.
It’s no secret that on Good Friday, Jesus suffered a long and agonising death. I have long struggled with Christian imagery and literature on the passion of Christ. On the one hand it shouldn’t be sanitised, but on the other it’s almost too much to bear thinking about. I’ve also struggled with depictions of Jesus’ suffering that seem to revel in the pain; it makes me wonder whether the artists in question have any comprehension of what torture is like.
And then of course, I come back to the fact that I barely know myself.
Continue reading This is my tent: a poem for passion week (with pictures)