All in All: A Poem

My friend Troy sent me this poem today. It’s very fitting, as our Journey Moltmann Group has been having nonstop conversations about the idea of God being all in all, which Moltmann believes is THE promise through which all other promises will be fulfilled. I’ll blog more about this later, but for now, the poem…

All in All

In this way, (and note) accordingly,
we might suppose that at the someday
consummation—what I would call
the promised restoration of all things—
those who make their gradual advance,
as well as those ascending
will step surprised into that land, into
the healing action of its elements.
Here, each will be prepared for all
immense occassions to which
nothing futher can be added.
And here, the King of all, Himself,
will school each blinking creature
in this the holy enterprise, instructing
all and reigning in them ’til He has
led them wholly to the Father—who
you’ll find has joined all things to Himself
—that is, until they are made capable
of receiving God, so that the God
may ever be to them The All in All.

-Origen of Alexandra (translation by Scott Cairns, Paraclete 2007)

Stepping surprisingly into a land and into the healing action of its elements? God schooling each blinking creature into the holy enterprise of promised restoration? Breathtaking, dear Origen. Just breathtaking.

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