Poetry as the Telos of Theology

An excerpt from the blog of James K.A. Smith:

"What if poetry is the end of theology? That is, what if poetry is the telos of theology—its goal and aim? What if the so-called truths of theology are just dimmed-down intimations of the rich truth that can be embodied in the imaginative worlds of poetry and fiction?"

Yes! You can read the rest of his post here.

The Quilt

In the end
we will be patches
on a quilt,
vibrantly ourselves
in color and pattern
but sewn by the patient
hand of God
into a seamless Shalom
and when He is finished
we will not hang uselessly
from a bed-end
or, worse, a wall,
as proof of a project
successfully accomplished
but drawn tight against His back,
ends overlapping His chest,
we will perfectly and finally
fulfill our purposes:
to warm Him
as He watches the sunrise
from the window
of a gray - shadowed room,
cold and naked from the night.

III.

He is peace

           upon

           peace.

Whatever it is

whatever it is
we will know it

in time.

and time

will be the undoing

of our knowledge.

then, all we will know

is the wrinkled face

of God, deep furrowed

and beautiful.

There is a Peace

There is a peace,
bountiful and shallow,
whose face turns
from ash and dust,
whose mouth speaks
softly behind its cotton
mask. Ashes to flesh
and flesh to spirit.
There is such a peace
and I have known it.
Then there is resurrection:
The peace of bone-dry voices
shattering rock and wood with praise
while the air crackles with purpose
and the thundering of humanity's knees
upon earth proclaim the insoluble perfection
of all things, even us.