Pamela L. Longo
St. Jerome Writing Group
What happened inside your mind transforming
In the space between before and after
As words unsettled all you thought you knew:
“Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where
Is the debater of this age? Has not
God made foolish the wisdom of the world?”
Folly, some might say, to dismiss the wise,
To risk untethering faith and reason.
Could you believe a boast of God’s power
Not just to destroy but to make whole all
That is broken, to break the brokenness
In you? Could you allow Him to upend
The vanities that detached you from Him,
Accept His weakness over your own strength?
Was it doubt or fear you had to surmount
To hear Christ proclaimed crucified and know
He was making all things new in your midst?
What recklessness, what trust, did it take to
Become the holy fool when you thought you
Were always destined to become a sage?
Did your heart sink or soar as you realized
The Cross changed the logic of this world
And required a change in you? How long
Did old ambitions turn over in your
Mind, haunting your dreams because you knew you
Must abandon them, or did it unnerve
You more to awake to the depth of the
Call and perceive your own smallness? How long
Did you wrestle with the words until they
Settled in your heart and became your strength?