Mark Stucky Poet Free verse

Notes About The Poem

A Theology of Boxes

A Theology of Boxes

By Mark Stucky
Praise God for “boxes”
        that form infrastructure for living!
Praise God for customs, conventions, and traditions
        that give meaning, order, and comfort to us.
And praise God for creativity
        to take brittle, old-wineskin boxes,
        and revise or replace them with new wineskins,
        enhancing joy, justice, mercy, and love!

“Thinking outside the box” is fashionable
        but not inherently good or bad.
The results are sometimes helpful,
        sometimes merely impractical,
        and sometimes destructive.
At their best, unconventional thoughts and acts
        lead to greater truth, justice, and peace.
At their worst, untethered thinking and behavior
        lead to distortions, inequality, and chaos.

Boxes don’t emerge randomly from a void.
        Boxes had reasons birthing their existence.
Some reasons are outdated and outmoded.
        Remodel those boxes!
Some were corrupt and unjust from the start.
        Smash those boxes!
And some are still valid and true.
        Embrace those boxes!

Good, “gray,” and bad boxes surround us.
        Pray for wisdom to discern the differences.


(First published in Agape Review, 5 Nov. 2022. See also my poem “Jurassic Prayer.”)

(Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com.)

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