Leave No One in the Cold | Epiphany 5
2.8.26 | Isa 49:1-7; Acts 1:1-8 | Fr. Benji Davis | Epiphany Basics for Making Christ Known (Mission)
Content
The vision behind this poem mostly comes from a pretty simple inspiration—how cold and gray it is outside today, and how warm and bright it was in the church sanctuary. For this poem, I am also envisioning the warm blessing of our own home, and the many many gifts of comfort we have. May each of us extend the warmth of hospitality this week, physically and spiritually, by making Christ known to those God puts in our paths. The children he calls us to raise, the wives and husbands he calls us to love, the parents and grandparents, the co-workers, the friends, the strangers—may all of us be called out of the cold this week, to live more and more fully in the warmth of God’s compassion for us.
Also, I’ve been meditating on Psalm 118 for an upcoming Almond Tree exhibit—for any who are afraid or feel overwhelmed at the call to proclaim Christ to those you know or those you don’t, pray Psalm 118:6: The Lord is on my side. I will not fear. What can man do to me?
Form
This poem is written in iambic tetrameter, which means most of the lines have 8 syllables with a cadence that mostly goes unstress-STRESS. (e.g. this WARM room SANC-tu-AR-ies ALL / who KNOW and CHOOSE to COME. Please COME). Don’t be confused though, the first line is not in this meter, and there are places I let myself break from it.
There is no particular reason I chose this meter—it is one of the most common in english verse, and it gives the lines a distinct rhythm, and the lines are relatively short, so it can feel a little lighter and move more fluidly from line to line than iambic pentameter might. I am a nerd for meter, so no worries if you don’t care about any of what I just wrote.
Epiphany Basics for Making Christ Known: Mission
Leave No One in the Cold | Isaiah 49; Acts 1
Nestled from the bitterest cold,
This warm room sanctuaries all
Who know and choose to come. Please come.
All souls who hurt, burdened by life,
drowning in every failed attempt
to heal, the lonely and the lost.
Listen, and I will tell you of
My God, who rescued me from death,
who rescues me every time I stray,
And yearns to do the same for you.
His warmth in thickest, biting ice;
His light in harshest, weeping night;
His love in strongest, burning loss;
Is for you, if you will but have him.
Let me tell you of my God and King.
His fire for us will never fail,
So go bring all out from the cold,
Draw near. His hand will hold you fast.