Uche Iloka

It’s the Christmas season again,
It’s the time for new gifts to rain
All the streets are lit up in light
The city is shiny and bright
Everyone is happy.
The gifts are many
But no gifts for the baby,
Yet it’s the baby’s party
What manner of man is this? The one for whom death is the purpose of his birth?

And we have found laws, both natural and man made.
Trapped in ink…black and white and all of man inadvertently, subject to these laws
But on the streets of this one book, I met a certain man
And none of these laws could hold him down
I read about the law of conception which requires the seed of a man in the womb of a woman before any given woman can conceive and bring forth a child.
But what manner of man is this?
For he required not the agency of a man,
But by the seed of a pure Ghost,
He was conceived in the womb of his virgin mother
And was born into this world in human flesh
Alive and well
For no law could hold him down
How about the law of Vintification which requires a certain mixture of fruit chemicals for any given wine to be made drinkable and sweet,
But what manner of man is this?
For at the feast at Cana,
At the wish of his mother,
He turned dirty dish water to the finest wine of the day
For no law could hold him down.
I also know about the law of immersion, it states rather emphatically that when any given substance of weight
Is placed on the surface of any given waters of depth
It has only one direction to go…
Down and sinking
But what manner of man is this?
For in the midst of the storm
And in the turbulence of the sea
He stepped on the surface of the Sea of Galilee,
And as if to defile the law any further
He walked on the troubled waters, not going down as this law of immersion would expect for no law could hold him down

What about the basic law of Arithmetic
It states that one plus one equals two
And two divided by two equals one
But what manner of man is this?
For with a little boy’s lunch
Of just five loaves of bread and two fishes
He fed five thousand men, women and children not counted
Having 12 baskets full, left over
For no law could hold him down.

I also know about the law of economy, it states that the legal tender of any given nation
Shall only be as regulated by the financial controlling body of such a nation
But again, what manner of man is this?
For when tax was required of him
He needed not to go to the central bank of Israel
But from the mouth of a fish,
He withdrew enough money to pay his tax and that of his friends
For no law could hold him down.

What about the Law of rigor mortis
It states that bare a few moments after the occurrence of death, the deceased body shall become stiff and inflexible,
Bit what manner of man is this?
For it wasn’t a few moments but four days after the death of his friend
He went to the entrance on the tomb and called out to he that were dead as though he were alive…
LAZARUS!!!! Come forth he said
And he that was dead came hopping out flexing both joint and muscle for rigor mortis could not hold him down.

What about the indisputable law of death
The law states that it is appointed unto all men once to die
And that my friend, they say, is a point of no return.
But what manner of man is this ?
But before the eyes of many witnesses he was laid in the tomb
His hair matted with blood
His eyes shut, his hands folded on his breast
His lips, seeming forever silent.
And a heavy stone was even rolled against the entrance of the grave
Permit me to err in English as Pablo would do, he was very dead!....

But that’s not how the story ends
For three days later, early Sunday morning
Behold there was a mighty earthquake
For the angel of the lord had descended for the heavens
His countenance was as lighten and his raiment as white as snow
For fear of him the guards did shake and became as dead men
Brave soldiers that have never been afraid of human power
Taken captive with neither sword nor spear
For the face upon which they looked today
Was not the face of a mortal warrior, but the captain of the Lord’s own army,
And they watched as he rolled away the heavy stone as one would kick away a tiny little pebble,
And out of the grave, this man called JESUS, came out
Proclaiming over the sepulcher
Oh death where is thy stink, and oh grave where is thy victory
For it is written of me,
Thou shall not leave my soul in Hades neither shall you leave the son of man to rot in hell
For not even death can hold him captive, even in the grave he is Lord
And no law can hold him down!