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Poem: “Construction Sunday–Fourth Sunday in Advent”

by on Dec 22, 2011 in Poetry
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Construction Sunday–Fourth Sunday in Advent

The waiting and watching are soon to stop.
God calls us to get busy building this Sunday
A dwelling for His son. An ark in a tent
Is too temporary, unfit unwelcome
For Him who will reign over
The House of Jacob. Forever requires
More than polished cedar or golden lintels.
His throne will be the womb of a virgin mother.
Heaven’s groom comes as a babe in a cold manger
The wood saved for oxen yokes and crucifixtions.
The king of endless glory will reside
In Bethelhem, the house of bread.
Under your roof receive Him
This child of starving flesh and pure light.
You are the building materials He needs
For eternity to enter time
This last liturgy of Advent,
This poem where you hold Him with your eyes.

Philip C. Kolin
19 December 2011


Philip C. Kolin, Professor of English at the University of Southern Mississippi, has published four books of poems, including Deep Wonder: Poems (Grey Owl Press, 2000) and, most recently, A Parable of Women: Poems (Yazoo River Press, 2009). More than 200 of his poems have appeared in or are forthcoming in such journals as Christian Century, America, St. Austin Review, Christianity and Literature, Michigan Quarterly Review, Windhover, Seminary Ridge Review, Louisiana Literature, Blue Collar Review, St. Anthony Messenger, South Carolina  Review, etc. Kolin is also the founding editor of Vineyards: A Journal of Christian Poetry (www.vineyardspoetry.com) .  He was educated by the Jesuits and the Dominicans and considers St. Joseph his patron.