An Angelic Host Matthew 28:1-8

I did not come to roll the stone away
for the Christ...
Risen, He no longer suffers such portals
He enters and leaves as He pleases
anywhere heaven or earth.

I come, a messenger, to the women.
I break the seal on the empty tomb,
push the quarried stone aside for them.

I alight there and await their timid arrival,
A host preparing an amusement for cherished guests.
I radiate a smile to the party-crashing guards,
they topple over, seized with astonished regrets.

These women, however,
are woven of stronger stuff, the fiber of love.
They listen intent through their alarm,
overcome a fit of fright, and leave inebriated with delight.

Task accompli, The surprise party a rousing success.
I rejoin the heavenly chorus to sing
a second stanza to "Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men."
It begins, "For He’s a Jolly God Fellow...Alleluia!
He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!"

c. Darlene Moore Berg