“The Paradox of Belonging:” a poem

The Paradox of Belonging

The call of Christ is to be

a whole human being,

incarnated, infused,

illumined by a love uncontained.

The only way to be

a whole human being

is to embrace the being

of the one I would deem other,

the one I view as separate.

Only when I see Christ

looking at me through your eyes

am I truly seen,

even as I see you.

We see, we know,

even as we are fully known.

The paradox of belonging

to Christ is that I realize

I belong to and with everyone,

a part of all creation,

the flow of life pulsing

from your veins to mine,

to the calling crow,

to the soft cloud,

to the dragonfly’s wing,

world without end.

I kneel at the altar

of the Emptied One

who has filled all things,

beyond name, beyond title,

beyond my fears.

How can I look on you

with anything other than absolute awe?

-Stuart Higginbotham