Happy Easter!

[Ebony Elizabeth Thomas]

Hello, OT-Chatterers...

The holiday tomorrow is *the* most important one of the year to lots of 
people... including me.  To honor it, I felt oddly compelled to share what 
is perhaps one of the most powerful Easter experiences I've ever had.  
Please forgive me if this is inappropriate.

(WARNING:  As the lyric poem below is definitely *not* secular, feel free to 
skip if it's not your cup of tea--I'm not proselytizing, just sharing.  I 
don't want to cause offense.)

For those of you left, here's an Easter treat for you.  You can't really 
call it a poem or a song... it's more a very old, very familiar story from a 
different perspective.

Ever heard of Simon of Cyrene?  No?  Well, this is the Easter story from his 
POV.

WARNING!
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For those of you left, I feel no embarassment in saying that every time I 
hear this poem sung by Ray Boltz or others, or see it acted out as an 
illustrated sermon, I get at the very least choked up.  The first time I saw 
it was as a college student... it was acted out by friends of mine at our 
church... and I wept for a long time afterward.

It is common knowledge that a large amount of the symbolism in Easter 
coincides with ancient fertility and springtime rites.  However, to a 
billion people worldwide, it heralds not only the beginning of spring, but 
the beginning of the Christian faith.


*Watch the Lamb*
--Words and Music by Ray Boltz

Walking on the road to Jerusalem
The time had come to sacrifice again--
My two small sons walked beside me down the road
The reason that they came was to watch the lamb.

They said, "Daddy, Daddy... what will we see there?
There's so much that we don't understand."
So I told them of Moses and Father Abraham
And then I said, "Dear children, watch the lamb!

"There will be so many in Jerusalem today...
We must be sure this little lamb doesn't run away."
So I told them of Moses and Father Abraham,
And then I said, "Dear children, watch the lamb!"

When we reached the city, I knew something must be wrong--
There were no joyful worshippers there, no joyful worship songs.
And I stood there with my children in the midst of angry men,
Then I heard the crowd cry out, "Let's crucify Him!"

We tried to leave the city, but we could not get away,
Forced to play in this drama a part I did not want to play...
Why, upon this holy day, were men condemned to die?
Why were we standing right there, where soon they would pass by?

I looked, and I said, "Even now they come,"
The first one cried for mercy, but the people gave him none.
The second one was violent and he was arrogant and loud--
I still can hear his angry voice screaming at the crowd!

Then someone said, "There's Jesus!", and I scarce believed my eyes--
The man was so badly beaten, He barely looked alive.
Blood poured from His body, and from the thorns on His brow,
Running down the cross and falling to the ground.

I watched Him as He struggled, and I watched Him when He fell,
The cross came down upon his back, and the crowd began to yell.
In that moment, I felt such agony--in that moment, I felt such loss!
Until a Roman soldier grabbed my arm and screamed,
"YOU--carry his cross!"

At first I tried to resist him, but his hand reached for his sword
And so I knelt, and I took the cross from the Lord.
I put it on my shoulder.  We started down the street...
The blood that He'd been shedding was running down my cheek.

They led us to Golgotha.  They drove nails deep in His feet and hands.
On the cross I heard Him pray, "Father, forgive them."
Never had I seen such love in any other eyes!
"Into Thy hands I commit My spirit," He prayed... and then He died.

I stood there for what seemed like years, lost all sense of time
Then I felt these little hands holding on to mine--
My children stood there weeping, and I heard the oldest say,
"Father, please forgive us--the lamb ran away!"

"Daddy, Daddy, what have we seen here?
There's so much that we don't understand..."
So I took them in my arms--we turned and faced the cross--
And I said, "Dear children, watch the lamb."

*****************

Ray Boltz calls this piece "the cornerstone of his ministry".  Again, it 
really works best if performed live.

It is believed that Simon of Cyrene was either of Phoenician or African 
heritage.

Happy Easter to all!

--Ebony AKA AngieJ

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Ebony AKA AngieJ
ebonyink at hotmail.com

Come join us in Paradise!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HP_Paradise

"Those who have ceased to love
Have not ceased to need,
Those who have ceased to care
Have not ceased to bleed;
Do not weigh the words that
Never ask, the minds that never
Seek, nor mark the averted faces,
But see the heart."

--Jean Toomer, Harlem Renaissance poet (c. 1947)
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