Suffocation; the torture of life without breath
Debt; the torture of being trapped without way of getting out

We signed away our souls and our very livelihoods
So that we might find treasures deep into the earth
In vain we gave ourselves to this cause
We became bankrupted and we became slaves to our toil
We inhaled our work and it poisoned our bodies
We owed our souls to the company for which we worked

We dig deep into the earth
In search of ancient treasures formed long long ago
Seeking to find riches beyond belief and beyond compare
Beginning a noble crusade for good things
But then continuing on to become a misadventure where there is little redemption
Oh what an ignorant odyssey we had begun!

In a manmade cavern, we dig for riches
Our faces becoming covered with black soot
As we invest into the dreams of the treasures for which we dig
And yet then further and further falling into debt
Until we are not only suffocated merely by the soot of coal but also by our debts
And as if the danger of this mine were not enough before the the mines began to fall onto our very heads

We toil for years upon years in this dark mine of coal
Losing all we knew and all we were for the sake of unsatisfying treasure
Our friends die day after day suffocated by the matter of our toil
We inhale our work and our lungs become so filled and poisoned with the soot of the coal
Many could no longer breathe or bear the pain of the poison in their lungs
And then they die in the depths of the dark caves searching for treasure in vain

Not knowing we had signed a death wish
To toil deep into the depths of the mantle of the earth searching for forsaken treasure
Believing that we were searching for good things
That we truly were in the midst of a noble crusade
Not even knowing of the reality in which we stood
That there truly was a terrible hell in which we were living

To this point we knew not of the soot slowly suffocating our lungs
And we knew not of the blood pouring out of our wounds
We knew not of the utter blackness that covered our faces
Or that no oxygen flowed to our ever so needy lungs
We knew only of the importance of our mission
And the necessity to find the treasures for which we were sent out

But the reality of this deep and dark quarry was a hell never before known
And the unknown need of fresh air was as heavy as a newborns need for his mother's milk
Yet we knew not of the need for fresh air
For our eyes were set on the prize
To mine the treasure for which we had so long toiled
And we forgot of our need to live and seek good things

Not knowing the depths of our manmade cavern and our lostness
Our faces so covered with dried soot and blood
Longing for new air to freshen our dying lungs
And longing for Holy Water to wash clean our coal-filled and coal-covered bodies
Yet we knew not any of this
And we knew not of the depths of our pain and our suffering

Yet then one day we break through the surface of the earth
We see the light of the sun, and we see good things
The light of day shines onto us
And a cool breeze blows onto our faces
Then we take a collective breath of the new air
A breath of fresh air more satisfying than a thousand breaths in the depths of the horrid coal mine

We see something we had not seen in years, freedom
And as our eyes set upon the world which we had nearly forgotten
We see the beauty that we had indeed forgotten
We realize the hell that we had clearly been enduring
And in a moment it all becomes clearer than ever before
The treasure of the coal mine had so deceived our hearts and our judgement and our very sanity

For we knew not of the depth and gravity of the terror of the hell we were in
We thought we were simply searching for gold, but we had truly sold our souls
Digging deep into the depths of the planet toward the core
And we lost ourselves in the darkness and depravity of the shaft
Suffering in blindness and lostness, unable to find any good things
Until finally we found the Light from above

Our debts had been cleared and our bodies had been made new
How sweet the wind was upon our sweaty, soot-covered, bloodied faces as we emerged from the cave
And then we were washed clean of all of our pain and suffering
The blood was washed from our faces, and our wounds were healed
The soot from the thick coal was scrubbed from our flesh, and our poisoned lungs were healed
And we were freed from the terror of our suffering

For out of the depths of the earth with squinted eyes and limp limbs
We emerged into great Light never before seen
And as our eyes adjusted, so did our understanding
The understanding of just how lost we had been
And just how close to death we came with each and every day
But the breath of fresh air, and the sight of new light resurrected us

From the great horror of our past we were healed
And from our ever-growing debts we had been released
We were freed from our self-imprisonment and given new life
And not on our own accord in the slightest
But by the great love of Christ Jesus
For Jesus is our great deliverer

How lonely sits this city
Desolate on a lake's jagged shore
A forgotten city in a forgotten land
Awaiting a savior for the city's sins
This city shivers in the midst of the winter's chilling wind

This desolate city has frozen under the turmoil of corruption
And the people have drowned in a sea of the blood of young men
The children of this city have died before their eyes develop to see light
And the leaders have been hauled off to prison for their crimes
This city is paying a heavy price for the sins of her people

It seems this city will never be what it once was
Though the foundations of ancient days still stand
The architecture of those who have gone before still grace the city skyline
And on the outside, the beautiful city remains
But decaying like a corpse on the inside away from view

Under the boot of heavy oppression
The people of this city rise to seek justice
And they mourn the death of their own people
They mourn the lack of justice in this city
And seek to make their own justice

The people march down crowded streets doing funeral dirges
For boys have fallen too soon and in cold blood
And these people demand justice for these crimes against humanity
These crimes committed by the peace-keepers of the city
And covered up by the soulless corrupted leaders

How could the spring ever come to warm this land
After such a winter as this has ravaged against it?
When the ice has frozen over this once-grand civilization
And frozen the last vestiges of life here
How might the warmth ever return?

For the lake that once was filled with swimmers and summer
Now lies frozen, hard as a rock, stretching miles upon miles
For the winter has come and gripped this city
And the winter has choked away all life in this place
And all life has left this ancient civilization

The lights that once shone in the dark have fizzled out and died
And no one has come to replace the light
For when a light goes out
How can it be relit
If there is no light to ignite new brightness

For the light has gone out in this forgotten city
And the people outside no longer see the city
The people outside can no longer hear the city’s cries
And they know not even of the city’s existence
For they cannot see this city of lights in such darkness

How might this ancient city ever be raised up once again?
How could the hell laid upon this land be reversed?
And when will the light finally return to this once-great land?
Who might bring light back and put it in a high place
And also come to end this never-ending winter?

Coming for those in the midst of this terrible winter
A boy was born into the slums, to a mother of no nobility
In a place where the animals came and fed
But this baby boy came and died for all men
Then rose again from death, defeating its power

Yet the people of this city did not know of this savior
For how might they know if they are never told?
And how might they be told if the people of the Lord do not tell?
The people of earth know that something greater must be coming
Yet they know nothing of the Savior who has come and died and rose again

The people of this city wait upon the coming of something greater
To redeem them from their fallenness and brokenness
So the people of the Lord call out to the people of earth
Waking them from their deep sleep and ignorance, giving to them great news
"Awake you men of earth, come out of your slumber!
Rise up from the terror of your nightmares
And see this new day of wonder
For the Lord has come to this desolate place
And given life to this lifeless city
Awake to the reality of our Lord! Awake!"

The people of earth awake, revived from their blindness, resurrected from their death
And they see that all things have been made new
That this once broken city has been made whole again
Whole again through the holiness of the Lord
And all things have been redeemed

The frozen city has thawed and life has returned
The frozen water upon which the people once celebrated as water has melted
And the victims of great crime have found justice
The light has returned to this wonderful city of old
As all life has returned here to this desolate place

We are the light and life of the world
The hands and feet of the Lord Jesus Christ
For we carry the cross for the sake of the city
We brought life to those who had no life, through Christ Jesus
And brought light to a city filled with darkness, with Christ Jesus our Lord

For we are called for something greater
We were created for a land we yet do not know
With fields of joy and wildernesses of wonder
A place far north across the sea
Where we will dwell in this heavenly country for all time
With our Creator and Almighty God, who has redeemed us

Now come awake!

Fumbling through a wilderness of pain
Lost in a desert of doubt
Desolate in a winter of anxiety
Buried in a coffin of maladies
Alone in a city full of people

Time and time again hearing whispers of doubt
Negative opinions and false truths
That I am nothing
That I will become nothing
Then die with nothing and no one

For out of the dust of the ground I came
And to it, I will return
For all things under the sun are meaningless
And in the end, toil means nothing except death
For this life is a lost cause

Then the winds of the wilderness increase
And the disorient of the desert intensifies
The death and terror of the winter do not relent
This capsule of corpses latches shut, trapping me inside
And the people of the city war against me

My hands tremble with the fears of my heart
My heart aches with the troubles of my soul
And my head pains with the false-knowledge I know
For I am filled with lies upon lies upon lies
And how might I ever know truth in the midst of such treachery?

It is then, in the midst of my hell
When the weight of this life has all but crushed me
And I am about to give up and die
About to accept these lies I've been fed
But then, the Lord speaks to me

I hear the voice of a heavenly nature, and it says;
‘Son, be still, and know that I am God’
Then, like a miracle
My trembling hands and unsteady heart are cured, and I'm stilled
For He has always been God, and has never left my side
And to the day I die, and even beyond, He never will

A season of waiting
As the cold air has come and choked our land
Taking away our breath and our hope
Even making attempts on our lives with this cold
And almost succeeding in this terrible winter
Oh come oh come Emmanuel

Lonely sit these lands
Waiting for good things to return
And holding onto hope in this winter of anxiety and fear
That soon, our redemption may come for to carry us home
In these lands we wait, for it can't be much longer now
Oh come oh come Emmanuel

Our ancestors once cried 'over the next hill must lie our Promised Land'
And we now cry 'in the next year must come our Savior
For the Lord could not make us toil much longer
Lest our bones freeze and our bodies die
And all of this waiting would seem to be in vain
Oh come oh come Emmanuel'

Yet here we wait for years upon years and generations upon generations
For the promised king to finally bless our lands
And free us from the tyranny of this world
Leading us into a better life
And bringing us a better world
Oh come oh come Emmanuel

We wait this winter, knowing spring comes on the horizon with our Messiah
To end this long-lasting winter
And melt this world of snow and ice
To bring a green spring
Full of life and good things
Oh come oh come Emmanuel

For our Savior is coming
And He will redeem all things
He will end our exile in this winter
And bring warmth to save our souls
Oh come oh come Emmanuel and ransom us from this freezing winter

The homily that turned into slobbering, unequaled any ordinary drool. Evenly balance my center of gravity.

Breathe in, breathe out. Lung sacs are losing elasticity.

Tighten descension through to  your love. Air is thick surrounding what is
held inside a chalice.  

Blood mist pillows.
Body crimson flush.

An amity offered presently, so shortly
gives a second's continuance. My will
to hold your crux, so I may adore,
eat of, drink of, understand.

Our sacrament has not yet recognition
in eyes of high on holy. Still, I promise
to sit with you, sopping all this
be all and end all, so I may call
your meat, bone, and marrow,
solely mine.

As amorousness is the weakness I worship, you are my sin.

A boy born into royalty
Destined to rule over a great kingdom
But sent away by one with ill will for the kingdom
To be killed in a shipwreck
And leave a kingdom without their prince

But a lion pushed the boy in the wreckage to shore
Where a man stood wakeful at night
And took the boy in, giving him life
The man abused the boy in many ways
And the future ruler would leave to rule his kingdom

The boy had always wanted to go North
As if there were something good to the North
Something drawing him to the mountains and rivers
As he had northern blood flowing through his veins
So 'Onward and upward, to Narnia and the North!'

The boy fled his home on the back of a talking horse
Escaping the abusive nature of his supposed-father
To the north where he was meant to be, they fled
From the south the life he was fleeing from
His destined kingdom lying in this northern land to which he travelled

On horseback he rides in a forest
Before hearing the sounds of another horse
And then seeing the sights of another rider
Terrified the horse pulls forward
Then a wild animal gives its mighty roar

Hearing the roar of a mighty lion
The riders and horses go on running from this terror
Until they are united, together in their travels
Then the lion disappears into the mist of the forest
And the travelers, a boy and a girl, and two horses now travel to the north together

The boy stranded in the desert
Away from all things he had known
Without his horse or traveling companions
Without any water to quench his thirst
And he spends the night alone in the dark desert

There on the desert ground, terrified he laid
For behind him stood tombs of the kings of old
And to his forefront laid the desert
He imagined ghosts and ghouls that might come from the tombs
And terrified he laid, there on the desert ground

Then a kitten came to his side
The cat came und nuzzled behind the sleeping boy
It kept him warm through the cold desert night
The boy felt safe with the kitten by his side
As if no one or no thing could possibly harm him

As he slept, he heard the sound of jackals howling in the desert
The boy became fearful once he noticed the absence of the cat
Yet it was at this time that he heard the mighty roar of a lion
And the lions roar made him even more fearful than he was before
But then the howling of the jackals ceased and he was safe

He awoke again later in the night to the cat by his side
The cat comforted him in his loneliness
And kept him warm in the desert night
When it needed to, the cat became a lion and defended the boy
For the lion always wanted what was best for that boy

Then the four travelers ventured north across the desert
Racing against time, and against enemy armies
To get to the kingdom in the north on time to warn the king
But like any desert travelers, they quickly tired
And they required one final push

A lion's roar cams out of the silence of nature
And very quickly the horses sped up to leave the lion's reach
But to no avail as the lion gashed at one of the riders
The terror of the horses propelled them forward
And they made it in time to save the kingdom

The boy was reunited with his father, the king
And he himself became a king when it came high time
The boy married the girl, and became king and queen of the country in the north
For the Lion and the Kitten led them to the north, and to their salvation
Even when they did not know the Lion at all

The Lion is Jesus Christ, God Himself in the flesh
He came to save the boy, and his horse
And his wife and her horse
He came as a fierce lion to redirect
And as a kitten to comfort
He came as a lion to defend
And as a kitten to protect
Jesus Christ came to men
He came as a helpless fetus and infant
And as a small child
He came as a man to teach
And as a man to die
Jesus is fierce when needed
And gracious when needed
For He loves His children
And will not let His children stray far from Him
For much good is to come for the Children of God