Bezalel

Bezalel: Under the Shadow

M.N. Brady

I want to throw everything of life into churches,
holy cathedrals shadowed and cool from their stone,
reaching up to the sky,
expertly curated to remind me—us
that we are dust
so atomically small that we are not worthy of remembrance
that God is a glory beyond touching,
and yet, still,
we are remembered and
God knows our flesh—
crafted it to be a reflecting reminder of the Holy.

But, where are the churches?
The pews of wood welcoming rest?
The pillars of stone standing strong?
The hymnal time tuning spirit?
The incense censers consecrating space?
The light colored by craftsman
so carefully molded to help our memory?

I don’t know; I cannot find them.

Did our mouth choke around amnesic ambrosia?
I don’t remember.
Did we consign to architect a different Babel,
lusting not after God but our own material?
Because I keep finding cathedrals pulled and wrenched down into
bars and clubs and cafés
beautifully reforging the divine dwelling into
effective edifices of hubris.

We were supposed to be a reflection, not the Image.

So, I ask, where are the artists
to rend it all back (or anew)
to craft the stone and carve the wood,
to compose a reminder and color the glass
just enough to still allow light,
who delight in skill but not pride,

who have a desire to reflect and not detract?

I beg,
give us something to keep before our eyes,
to mark our hands and bind our minds so that we can’t forget—

I know you’re there. Answer this commission:

Curate a new cathedral—a holy place, a ground reclaimed,
so sacred that it takes us out of ourselves
and into the protection of God.

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M.N. Brady
Writer & Theologian

Megan holds a Master's in Christian Apologetics from Biola University's Talbot School of Theology, and a Master's in Theological Studies from Duke Univesity's Divinity School. Both her creative and academic writing seek to illuminate and dwell in the tension of the Already-Not Yet of God's Kingdom. She is also an ambassador for Ekstasis magazine. This is her first poetry publication. 

Photography by cottonbro studio