Yours was a naked death, Jesus:
Not for you the fine linen of a rich bed
surrounded by wealth accumulated over a comfortable lifetime.
Not for you a well prepared service of farewell
with time for proper grieving and departures.
Not for you a carefully chosen shroud,
or a tenderly nurtured grave.
When you kept your rendezvous with death
all was stripped away except your determined love
and the life that lay dormant for a moment
waiting for the morning
when your naked glory would break free again.
Amen.
