Sepulchre

"A whitewashed sepulchre"-
Were your words
spoken of a Pharisee.
A beauty from without
for all to behold
its false purity
But inward their hearts
were filled with
Uncleanliness
Rotting flesh
Decomposing
Dry bones
Death.
Hypocrisy is easy to deny
2,000 years from the comparison
Of self-righteous men
who knew only of works
and nothing of love.
But in between the leather binding
written on the diaphanous tissue
in bold red print
Are your crushing words
that point the condemning finger
used to paint a biblical picture of
A modern day me....
the Pharisee in me.
Can there be hope
for a heart
as squalid and stained as mine?

But with your holy ingression
You light a match
Set a flame to dying embers of my soul
with your Spirit's light
dust the cobwebs and banish the soot
Resurrect the dry bones to new life
and abide.
Sanctified by Your touch
this sepulchre is
A testimony of the grace.
made beautiful by You
and holy in your eyes
A beam of hope goes forth from the sepulchre
The righteousness is now not mine
but a cleansing of Your blood....
Finally alive.