Rejected

Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people,

from the deceitful and unjust man

deliver me!

For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me?

Why do I go about mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?

Psalms 431 

It was customary during the festival for the governor to release to the crowd one prisoner, whomever they might choose. At that time there was a well-known prisoner named Jesus Barabbas. When the crowd had come together, Pilate asked them, “Whom would you like me to release to you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ?” He knew that the leaders of the people had handed him over because of jealousy.
1While he was serving as judge, his wife sent this message to him, “Leave that righteous man alone. I’ve suffered much today in a dream because of him.”
2But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and kill Jesus. The governor said, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”
“Barabbas,” they replied.
Pilate said, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called Christ?”
They all said, “Crucify him!” But he said, “Why? What wrong has he done?”
They shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”

Matthew 27:15-26

Hear the Broken Hearted

Sometimes the song

That rises from the depths

Of my broken heart,

The music of my soul,

Creaks and groans

Under the weight of release,

Wordlessly throwing

The fullness of an unknown meaning

Onto the funeral pyre of hope.

May its burning scent

Float high on a breeze

And fly like a snow white dove

Into the waiting arms

Of a sleepless creator.

Please, I say,

Take heed and hear

The sound,

My breathlessness unfurled,

In this hated time

Of un-being, unknowing,

But not unfeeling.

The tremors of my heart

Pray fervently

That you are waiting

For just the right moment, just

The right time, to act

In blinding grace and heal

This broken heart that beats

In a tattered rhythm.

Wait no longer!

Do not take your time

But act quickly,

For this dark tide envelopes me,

Like a constricting serpent,

And holds me close

In its suffocating embrace.

All images in this installation are copyrighted by Matthew Nelson 2021