Paul:
I'm in chains, bound to You, Lord
with a 'son' who slaves for me
I return him to his master
Set him free
Onesimus:
I ran away from a brother
who has always enslaved me
now my 'father' sends me to him
Set me free
Philemon:
I once owned this useless one
who now bows and offers me
a plea from my dear brother
to set him free
Break me now, break me always
when my heart's too hard to see
that I'm the point of grace
Lord, set me free
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." ~ Galatians 5:1
Help me out with this, will y'all?
Posts
3 comments:
Okay, you've got a verse from the viewpoint of each of the major players in the story of Philemon followed by a chorus from the viewpoint of a modern Christian, each ending with a variation on a plea to be set free.
If you want to extend things another cycle, you might focus on the transformation needed by each speaker so you could end each with the affirmation, "I am free."
This reminds me a little of a poem I wrote years ago which I'm not sure you've seen.
LAZARUS RISING
Three days in darkness
Deeper than the night
Wound in the bindings of the grave
Without light, without warmth
Within the tomb of stone
The Master speaks my name
And I arise.
A lifetime in darkness
Deeper than the grave
Bound in the windings of sin
Without hope, without peace
Within the heart of stone
I speak the Master's name
And I arise.
Oh, and happy birthday!
Steve
Steve, thanks! I can't think of a better birthday gift from an old friend and a respected poet than the gift of verse - and a direction for "Onesimus."
I kinda remember "Lazarus Rising" - was it a piece we thought about publishing in "Yellow Journal" (or whatever we would have ended up calling it)?
Jump back a couple of blog entries to "Stop A Head" - do you remember that trip, as half of the couple in the back?
You don't need anymore, leave it as is. This post is awesome!
Post a Comment