This poem has gone through a few iterations (most notably at Oxford in 2019) but wanted to share a version I wrote of it that I had the privilege to perform over at the Near North campus for Park Community Church on Sunday, 1/2/22.
No Spoilers
By: Zachary Lee
I have a confession to make:
I like spoilers...no wait I love them
There hasn’t been a movie whose plot twists, character deaths, and shocking revelations
I haven’t first read beforehand
It’s exhilarating stepping into a theater knowing
that Vader will confess that yes he IS the father
that Boromir will be skewered yet keep his honor
that all along Snape wasn’t Voldermort’s servant but a friend of Potter’s
And in Spider-Man: No Way Home when…
…just kidding; I won’t do that to y’all
But while you lament
“Spoilers, where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the Twittersphere you are there
If I make my bed in YouTube comments you are there”
I don’t resist to the point of shedding blood but dive in headfirst
I scour the Reddit forums and watch the YouTube reviews
willingly stepping into the scene of the crime,
You see, I spoil because there’s satisfaction in watching something unfold exactly the way its predestined
To know that every wrong turn, fork in the road, and crash didn’t end up derail someone from their destination
They still got to where they wanted...just a little worse for wear
I don’t want to go through my own life spoiler-free
I’m not content with navigating this coordinate plane of life with just a few plot points
I feel enslaved to every decision I make
That even though I’m not the author of my story
My screw-ups will make Him add asterisks to the chapters of my life
He found his way home...but it was through the pig sty
He evangelized...but only after being fish food
I don’t want to come to the end of my life and feel like I’m too far gone
Because there’s too much at stake
I don’t want to wait till the end to get my “well done”
I am…the Israelites…
Facing Jordan’s waters
Asking if I can walk on dry land again
As if I haven’t seen Him part waters before
I am…Peter
seeing my Savior standing on the seas
but sinking and slipping in my doubts as I walk
But I am… washed by the blood
invited to plunge headfirst into aquatic renewal
He reminds me that my thoughts are not His
And that His ways are higher
That even if I’m in a cold season of life His love is a consuming fire
When he crafted men’s tongues he knew we would use them to spit and curse
The hands of His enemies he knit in mothers’ wombs he knew would pierce his side and do even worse
He’s reminds me He’s not the one who saw a bad story and remained passive
But rewrote our script and by sending His own Son hollered “Lights, Camera, Action”
While I want to know the details of what occurs,
I don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step
Because faith is being sure of what you hope for
Certain of what you do not see
At least on this earth, I must remain spoiler-free
But the beauty of it all is that despite rough beginnings and no matter the hardships that occur in between
He assures me that the ending is written and that it is good
