On Sunday, I headed to The Commons church in Flagstaff, Arizona. I had spent the weekend in town visiting Caroline and Andie, meeting their friends and getting a true sense of the home and community they were building in that forest town. We took communion and closed with a prayer, but before we left the pastor read this poem and said, “Food for thought.”
“In Hell there grew a Judas Tree
Where Judas hanged and died
Because he could not bear to see
His master crucified
Our Lord descended into Hell
And found his Judas there
For ever hanging on the tree
Grown from his own despair
So Jesus cut his Judas down
And took him in his arms
“It was for this I came” he said
“And not to do you harm
My Father gave me twelve good men
And all of them I kept
Though one betrayed and one denied
Some fled and others slept
In three days’ time I must return
To make the others glad
But first I had to come to Hell
And share the death you had
My tree will grow in place of yours
Its roots lie here as well
There is no final victory
Without this soul from Hell”
So when we all condemned him
As of every traitor worst
Remember that of all his men
Our Lord forgave him first”
- D. Ruth Etchells
Beirut, January 20, 1987
When I heard this poem read aloud, I was humbled at the idea. The author not only expresses the Lord’s forgiveness, mercy and unconditional love, but the redemption found in Jesus Christ.
There have been times when I have doubted that the Lord could forgive me for all the mistakes I’ve made, but through this poem, though it may not hold any biblical weight, I am confident that I have been R E D E E M E D .
Posted by Suzi on November 17th, 2011 in Life, Word | Tags: andie faulkner, arizona, caroline sleeper, Christianity, church, d. ruth etchells, flagstaff, God, judas tree, redeemed, redemption, Suzi Jacobs, the commons
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