Not to the risen Lord we cling,
who said to Mary, "Touch me not,"
but to the eternal Christ and King,
the Lamb unblemished, without spot.
The risen Lord had form and face
and human tones to speak the name
of Mary, when with power and grace
transfigured from the tomb he came.
To Thomas, doubting and afraid,
he gave the proof of wounds unsealed,
and at Emmaus breaking bread
with those pierced hands himself revealed.
And Peter, who had thrice denied,
he thrice forgave with "Feed my sheep,"
in that same voice that bade subside
the storm that roused him from his sleep.
The babe who in the manger lay
in humble state on Christmas night,
the risen Lord of Easter Day,
a cloud received from human sight.
But Christ, untouched by age or youth,
by crib or cross or womb or grave,
the living fact, the eternal Truth,
is present still to heal and save.
