From Earth to Heaven - Poem by Raymond A. Foss

Rising from the ashes, from the dust of earth
rising to heaven, the court of the Lord
So is this journey, from the burnt palms,
a sign of the cross, marking us, on our skin, our lives
coming, a journey, faces to Jerusalem,
to that rising at Easter morning
to the ascension into heaven

Slowing our lives, joining the steps of our savior
traveling with him, witnesses, to his ministry
to his teachings, his prayers, his suffering
his choice of servanthood
being with him on the mountain
on the sea, in the desert, on the path
on the road to Jerusalem, to the cross, to the grave

Walking these forty days, traveling back
to those ancient days, so real
walking with the disciples, with Peter, with James,
with John, even with Judas, the weight of his trial
the choices each of them would make
on the way to the Upper Room,
to the Garden, to Calvary

Spending time, with the risen Christ
his mark upon us, from the ashes to the empty tomb
From the parade into the city, the solemnity of a new covenant
betrayal, the mocking in trial
the weight of choice in the Garden, sweat like blood
the despair of the cross, the cold of the tomb
To the glorious rising, death, sin vanquished.

March 1, 2009
Lent, from Ash Wednesday
to Easter morning