As it’s Advent, this poem/reflection might seem out of place. However, I was recently listening to a podcast about the Aztecs that described a city where locals believed the gods came to die. This led me to think about the cross and what it represents—the defeat of the powers.
——
The Place of the Skull
A dark, sacred mount,
where gods fall silent
and their power fades to ash.
Once they swayed the hearts of many,
their reign vast and cruel.
Thinking they had silenced
the Author of Life,
but in their triumph,
whip, nail, spear—
they were deceived.
He descended into the grave,
dragging their shadows behind him,
shattering thrones to echoes,
their dominion undone.
They stagger and sway,
the dragon’s teeth lie broken.
The gods have come to die.
The beasts, their days are numbered.
Yes,
darkness moves and labors still.
Wounded hearts and fractured souls
bear witness,
but by bloody cross and butchered lamb,
their dark schemes unravel.
The powers will not prevail,
and the light will not be quenched.
‘And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.’- Colossians 2:15, NIV
Rev’d Jon Swales , 2024
Art Work- Golgotha, Darrow Pike
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