Gabriel appears to Mary,
scans her heart,
scares the bejesus into her.
She drops the mending,
the basket of eggs,
the water jug,
the familiar, known and comfortable.
Reaching back…back…back into their shared story,
this shattering, shimmering apparition speaks:
"We can't do this. God can."
…and Mary's heart and womb swell
with God's impossibilties.

Last-ditch effort, end-of-rope hope,
a sick woman crawls, hauls her disintegrating body to Jesus.
Reaching back…back…back into their shared story,
this irrational, irresponsible incarnation speaks:
"Old lady, you are a daughter of Abraham!"
…and the woman's body throbs
with God's impossibilities.

Zacchaeus–stout, squat, scarred, scared–
tosses his own impossibility,
a dinner invitation to Jesus.
Reaching back…back…back into their shared story,
this hulking, hands-on healer offers the unexpected response:
"Little man, you are a son of Abraham!"
…and Zacchaeus's dining table groans with the weight
of God's impossibilities.

Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. (Check out Genesis 18:14.)