O King

O King of the nations, so long desired, the corner-stone making Jew and Gentile one: come!  Save mankind whom you formed from clay!
 
O Rex Gentium

O King of our desire whom we despise,
King of the nations never on the throne,
Unfound foundation, cast-off cornerstone,
Rejected joiner, making many one,
You have no form or beauty for our eyes,
A King who comes to give away his crown,
A King within our rags of flesh and bone.
We pierce the flesh that pierces our disguise,
For we ourselves are found in you alone.
Come to us now and find in us your throne,
O King within the child within the clay,
O hidden King who shapes us in the play
Of all creation. Shape us for the day
Your coming Kingdom comes into its own.
 
Poem: Malcolm Guite; Image: Adam Boulter
 
Jesus is king, the One before whom every knee shall bow, in heaven and on the earth and under the earth.  Let his disguise not lead us to despise him, who searches streets and alleys, highways and hedgerows to bring the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame to a kingdom not of this world.  Let desire grow for him before whose eyes we are one single people, and let this longing bring about communion.  Let us know ourselves bound together by one cornerstone, dividing walls in process of demolition, because in his Body he has united God and man, heaven and earth.  May we know ourselves molded from within, for: “With his hands he molds the clay, and with his feet softens it.  His determination is to complete the glazing, and he is careful to fire the kiln” (Sir 38:30), and so may we be remade in him.