Taken

 

1.     Taken (Where You Do Not Want To Go)

 

Oh, Baby Jesus,
How strange that sounds,
Like 'new-born-ancient'
Like 'Finite-infinity'
Like 'Temporal-eternal'
Oh Baby Jesus,
Look at you now,
God and yet unconscious of it,

You smile up at me
From that manger,
Your tiny little fingers
Would explore my mouth
And stretch my eyelids,
Were it not for that swaddling,

Oh Baby Jesus,
Those hands will be bound again
But first they will be freed,
They will explore, and fumble and take
They will give and mend and break,
As you slowly become
The man God made you to be,

Oh Baby Jesus,
Whose words formed stars
look at you now,
You can't even form words,
You can't even say 'ah',
Just 'buh, buh'
And raspberry's
And squeals
You don't even know the deal yet,

Oh Baby Jesus
Tightly wrapped in clothes another chose
But you will learn to dress yourself
And follow the calling
Wherever it goes
Though for now
You must stay where you're put,

When you were 'younger'
You went where you wanted,
And if it wasn't there
You made there,

When you were younger
You clothed yourself in light
And righteousness made a pretty cool coat,

But, Oh, Baby Jesus,
Look at you now,
Tucked in
Wrapped up
And dribbling
Blowing spit bubbles,

When you're older you will dress yourself
And go where you please

And then, when you are a little older still
You will stretch out your hands
And you will be pinned down again

And then, when you are a few days older than that,
You will stretch them out again,
To family and friends

To one who cant believe
and to another
Who cant forgive himself

And you will say

"When you were younger you dressed yourself
And went where you wanted;
But when you are old you will stretch out your hands,
And someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”

And, Oh Baby Jesus, you will know
Exactly what you are talking about,
Because you laid down your life
Long before
You ever took it up.

And looking at your tiny unsuspecting face
Baby Jesus
Though it knows me not, yet
I can see….. the greatest love.

Reflection: Swaddled

I see al kinds of prophetic echoes of the cross, here in the nativity. When I wrote this poem I had never expected to see something so powerful in the swaddled infant Christ. And then His words to Peter came to me, when you are old....

It quite blew me away. And, though as a baby, he was completely at the mercy of his parents, who swaddled him lovingly. He had surrendered to this, and he would surrender again, at the cross. And all that he prophesied over Peter had happened also to himself. He was dressed with a purple robe and a crown of thorns. He was taken where he would not go (To the Cross).

And all of this was just a seed germinating within the life of Jesus from the moment he was conceived.

And of course, being swaddled took away his freedom. But unlike any other baby in history, he had surrendered himself to this.

We feel swaddled buy our circumstances, at times, unable to respond as we want to. Sometimes through no choice of our own, sometimes through bad choices that lead us there, but none-the-less, restrained.

Firstly I want to say to you, there is a freedom coming. Jesus outgrew is swaddling and knew freedom. Secondly, even that later restriction, that come through nails and wood, gave way to glorious resurrection life. With God, all things are possible and his way is life. He will not abandon you.

Secondly, within the swaddled situation, practice patience and trust in that same God. If your surrender to him (note to him, not the situation) within it is true, if you embrace his will, even if it is this trial (for a while) and trust his good purposes within it, it will lighten the burden. And yes, his burden is light. The one foisted upon you by any other is not. But his burden is light and his yoke is easy.

~Scripture~

And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

~Luke 2:12~

Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

~John 21:18-19~