Because He Is Risen

Because he is risen,
spring is possible
in all the cold hard places
gripped by winter
and freedom jumps the queue
to take fear's place
as our focus.
Because he is risen.

Because he is risen,
my future is an epic novel
where once it was a mere short story.
My contract on life is renewed
in perpetuity.
My options are open-ended;
my travel plans are cosmic.
Because he is risen.

Because he is risen,
healing is on order and assured
and every disability will bow
before the endless dance of his ability
and my grave too will open
when my life is restored,
for this frail and fragile body
will not be the final word
on my condition.
Because he is risen.

Because he is risen,
hunger will go begging in the streets
for want of a home
and selfishness will have a shortened shelf-life
and we will throng to the funeral of famine
and dance on the callous grave of war
and poverty will be history
in our history.
Because he is risen.

And because he is risen,
a fire burns in my bones
and my eyes see possibilities
and my heart hears hope
like a whisper on the wind
and the song that rises in me
will not be silenced
as life disrupts
this shadowed place of death
like a butterfly under the skin
and death itself
runs terrified to hide.
Because he is risen.

by Gerard Kelly, from Spoken Worship