In a sudden, searing moment

In a sudden, searing moment,
in the twinkling of an eye,
one is left and one is taken,
swept into eternity.

Out of safety into danger,
out of danger into death;
flower of the field has faded,
child of God is robbed of breath.

Disbelief and sheer denial
mingle with a helpless rage;
none can change this troubled story
nor rewrite this nightmare page.

Why does God let such things happen,
why abandon those in pain?
Faith seeks out a God that's present
as it scans the cross again.

In the bleakness of Good Friday,
heat and hurting all the while,
God's compassion stoops to suffer
and, in Christ, to reconcile.

Easter dawns, but first the grieving,
first the sharpness of the grave;
then faith sees Christ's risen body,
bearing wounds the soldiers gave.

Christ shall come and God's creation
shall be changed and tears be dry.
In a promised, glorious moment,
in the twinkling of an eye.

David Mowbray b.1938
© David Mowbray / Jubilate Hymns
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