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True defense
Originally published online on March 17, 2022
Sometimes it seems to roar in, like
a rapid’s current, the pull to flare
up at some graceless indiscretion.
Or, to pick a fight with this pointless
weapon of self-justification, fueled
by the notion that someone is always
right, someone always wrong.
“He answered nothing.” 1
Jesus gave no answer to the vicious
accusers’ charges before his crucifixion.
Good advice, but more: Timeless,
healing defense.
Cradled at that moment in what
must have been a deafening silence
to dense, goading material thought,
his life lay as his answer, loud and clear:
his true defense being his towering
life lived perfectly as Christ—the divine
nature of God, divine Love. Here,
hate and anger are found empty of power,
beating the air and fizzling out against
such infinitude.
Even as we face so much less, we bow
to Christ—our advocate still—who speaks
for our pure, spiritual goodness. Every moment
Christ reshapes our lives into an answer
of God’s profound, transforming love for
everyone. Then self-justifying outcries
become voiceless, unheard.
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