Other Names

Amid the name of triumph
Of love, of caring, the names of the king
Were other names, troubling, incongruous, jarring names
For the king this Sunday, from the pulpit, from our pastor
Names of shame, of conviction, of accusation,
But these were the names of the Christ
Before the reverence, before the resurrection,
before the Pentecost, long before we walked the earth
Drunkard, homeless, refugee
They too were part of his story, not just king, Emmanuel,
The Good Shepherd. Hard words to hear; but worthy of thought
Of utterance, of contemplation this Christ the King Sunday
This year in worship, provocative words
Challenging words, in imaging Jesus
A fuller, whole picture, of our Savior,
Our brother, first born of the resurrection
The head of the body of the church
Seated at the right hand of God

November 25, 2007 4:30pm
Based on Colossians 1:11-20 and the sermon,
“Imaging Jesus”, by the Reverend Lori Eldredge,
Wesley United Methodist Church, Concord, NH
November 25, 2007