Ensaio Sobre Luz

Son where are your accusers?
No, no one stayed, not me, nor I condemn you
Go and sin no more

Winter has finally passed
The people who walked in darkness saw the great light
Those who lived in the shadow region saw the light
And how can this be?
The majestic, imposing, uncontained light
Exaggeratedly monumental

Of universal reach and permanently irrefutable effects
There mysteriously contained
Astonishingly condensed, clothed in flesh and bone
With small hands and squinted eyes
Resting peacefully in a manger
He was the promised son to sinful man

The promise made to the lost
The bundle of hope
Which men and women clung to
Throughout centuries of darkness
The trust placed in the insistent history
Of a savior, there
With feet, hands, gained a smile
The incandescent light

Attested by nature
Revered by the stars
Acclaimed by men
Sought by strangers
Perceived by the insolent enemy

The light was finally among us
And we saw his glory
As if he were the perfect son of God himself
And he truly is
He is the image of the invisible God

The perfect mirror of the divine
Each of his movements was a
Reflection of the father's impeccable character
His speech an echo of God's perfect will
His actions a demonstration of
Judgments and mercy among men
And this because it pleased the
Father that in him all fullness should dwell
In him in whom all things were made and in whom all things subsist
What is visible, the invisible, thrones, dominions, all came from him
And exist through him and he was among us and we saw
He was and we saw his dazzling wisdom

(Still a boy arguing with people already lived)
We saw his grace and kindness
(Who else would touch impure people
Defend women and eat with sinners?)
We saw his power

(Over men, demons and even over the fury of the seas)
We saw his holiness and purity
(Who else would shout with such zeal in favor of God before
Cheating merchants, deceiving priests, corrupt rich?)
We heard the scandal of his message
Subverting the heads of those who trusted in themselves
He gave bread to the hungry and loved, loved to the end
We saw his love, the very love was with us
And what did we do with him?
We killed him!

Because we were all nothing
But mortal enemies of God
Opposed to his standard, rivals of his goodness
Opponents of justice

We did not want his love, nor did we ask for his grace. Dead
We could not offer anything else to the boy
God among us other than death itself
We took him to the wood to confirm once and for all
For all our terrible enmity against his being

And there hanging in shame, we laughed
We feasted and blasphemed against the light
Others of us hid and abandoned him
But none of us loved him to death

While we thought he was a poor afflicted wretch
He was actually taking on himself
Our own punishment and misery
In his torn flesh our wounds were healed
In his shame, our guilt extinguished

Through the precious blood of the silent lamb
That flowed our curses were exorcised
And when he received the mysterious punishment of
The absence of the father himself we were reconciled
The precious Christ died in shame
In contempt and under the heavy hand of the most
Furious overwhelming wrath of God, he died

The Sun hid, the angels collapsed in pain and the son was gone, he died
But how could death that nothing
More than one of his servants hold him?
How could the punishment of God succumb to him
Who bears in himself all his justice for he is God
How would God's offer to himself not be perfect and definitive
How could the Sun of justice fade into darkness and abyss?
Tearing the darkness like a silk curtain the light rose

The dawn then broke
The apathetic winter dissolves into colors
Death is conquered by life
Good triumphs over evil
And the night comes to dawn the brightness of noon

It's over
While we hated and killed him, he provided our freedom
It's over
While we laughed at his pains he breathed ours
It's over
While we feasted and watched him die of thirst
He opened a fountain of living water for all who thirst
It's over

While we abandoned and fled from his misery
He sought his flock with surprising love
It's over
While we hid and were ashamed of him
He descended into the swamp of our
Miseries and pulled us out with power and determination
It's over
While we despised him for being forgotten by God
He brought us closer to our enemy and made peace with his blood
It's over

Where is death?
Where is the power of death?
He demoralized the darkness
And paid in himself the ransom for our freedom
This price we could never pay
Who among us would bear the weight of God's righteous wrath?
Who among us would correspond to his law perfectly?
None

But now we are free in him
There was Christ hanging
Hanging was the liar
Raised from the ground were the arrogant and the debauched
Exposed in shame was the prostitute, the transvestite, the homosexuals
Hoisted were the murderers, the false, the blasphemers
All his children, his lost sheep, his little wavering ones
The poor in spirit for whom he emptied himself to make them rich
All there dying with him and rising with him on the third day!

What unfathomable grace, scandalous forgiveness, astonishing gift
The news of peace with God made through
Christ is too good to be true
But blessed are those who believe this news
Happy are those who believe in the precious gospel of Christ
And in the sublime good delivered to sinners for the glory of God
There is no more condemnation for these everything was accomplished
The lost, found
And the rebel brought back to his home

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit
He handed us over to the father
And who will snatch us from this eternal security?
Let the righteous sing and the redeemed rejoice
Christ is our sublime good
Amen