We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
because by your holy cross, you have redeemed the world.
Empty, the body, now,
gone beyond any harm.
Gently we lay him down,
safe in his mother's arms.
Now we are left behind,
we who would follow him.
Now we are deaf and blind,
lamed in our every limb.
Once we had seen his light
marking the way like stars,
breaking out from on high—
Now we dwell in the dark.
Gone is the mother hen:
No more beneath her wing
we flee the hawk again.
Vultures are circling.
Wash all the blood away,
soft as he laved our feet.
Care for his dust and clay,
now his care is complete.
Carry him, linen-bound,
spices tucked in the folds;
take him up in his shroud.
One last time, him we hold.
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One,
have mercy on us.
Rembrandt. The Descent from the Cross. 1633.
Kate Bluett 