WHAT IS "ESSENTIAL"?

"Kenosis," multi-media collage, 2019, by Troy Kehm-Goins. Copyright © 2019 Troy Kehm-Goins. 

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WHAT IS “ESSENTIAL”?

Kenosis is the process of emptying out, of one’s essence departing, leaving nothing. Ex nihilo, “out of nothing,” becomes something, fit aliquid (“a thing is made”), and redit, ut nihil, “returns to nothing.”

Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust.

The kenotic moment is without essence, yet something must remain to define what once was. An outline. An emptying out implies a prior fullness.

Discontinuity married to continuity. There must be a break. There must be a recognition. Funereal clothes. Linen cloths. A spider’s web of sheer fabric and the scent of embalming spices. Frankincense, myrrh, aloe.

Where have you taken him? Where is the body?

Darkness begets light. A split twin.

Light spills forth into flesh. Particle and wave are knitted into the fabric of sinew and muscle and cartilage, built upon a foundation of hard bone.

And then a word. A breath. A name. A term of endearment. A flutter of the hand. A breaking of bread. A welcoming with open arms.

04/11/2020 • Easter Vigil

Copyright © 2020 Troy Kehm-Goins.