Even the wind and the sea

Haiku for the storm-tossed.

When evening came
they took the boat, crossed over
to the other side.

Left the crowd behind,
looking for a brief respite.
Other boats came too.

In the stern, weary,
on a cushion, tired eyes;
Jesus falls asleep.

The wind is rising,
grows into a roaring gale;
waves are crashing in.

Fearful, they wake him.
Teacher, are you not concerned?
We could all be drowned!

Rebuking the wind
and commanding wild sea
he speaks: Peace! Be Still!

The wind dies away
and the waves cease their crashing;
Why are you afraid?

Why are you afraid​?
We’ve travelled far together;
have you still no faith?

Who, they ask, is this;
the wind is at his command,
the sea obeys him.

Words for the faithful
when all seems out of control:
Be at peace! Be still!

 

© Ken Rookes 2018

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The kingdom

Haiku of emerging abundance.

The kingdom of God!
A diff’rent reality,
strange, unexpected.

The seeds are scattered.
The sower gets on with life;
the seeds sprout and grow.

First the stalk, the head,
then the grain swells full and ripe,
and the harvest comes!

Take a mustard seed,
the tiniest of them all;
grows big for the birds.

The kingdom of God;
growing fruitful love, justice;
though we may not see.

Many parables,
riddles to confuse and hide;
his friends understand.

The kingdom of God;
When God rules in hearts and minds,
grace and love abound.

 

© Ken Rookes 2018

White privilege

Perhaps I might dedicate this post to the PM and all his coalition mates.

He has a demon

Haiku for the family

Too busy to eat!
The crowd insist, make demands;
they press upon him.

His foes malign him.
They say he has a demon,
gone out of his mind.

His family, too,
are worried. They come to him,
try to take him home.

He gathers his friends,
laughs: a kingdom divided
surely cannot stand!

Take care what you say,
lest you blaspheme the Spirit
with your objections.

His mother arrives
with his brothers, calls him out.
He doesn’t respond.

Looking at the crowd
he asks, Who is my mother,
who are my brothers?

You are my mother
and my brothers, when you do
what God is asking!

 

© Ken Rookes. 2018

The Sabbath cornfields

Haiku for lawbreakers

The Sabbath cornfields
see his disciples breaking
the Sabbath work laws.

Plucking heads of grain:
harvesting, threshing, working!
All against the law.

The Sabbath, he said,
was given for humankind
not the opposite.

Jesus sits loosely
with the letter of the law;
he is ruled by love.

In the synagogue
the man with a withered hand:
will Jesus heal him?

Shall Sabbath prevail
and circumvent the healing?
No. He will choose love.

What does the law say,
on the Sabbath, to do good,
or should we do harm?

They will not answer.
Their hearts are hard, unable
to find compassion.

The mean and heartless
do not like being exposed.
The plotting begins.

 

© Ken Rookes 2018

In earthen vessels

Haiku for the humble

We have this treasure,
the apostle asserted,
in earthen vessels.

These common clay pots,
plain and undecorated,
hold the light of Christ.

Humble followers,
nothing special about us;
yet he shines within.

Proclaim him as Lord,
for truly he is the one
God has sent to us.

The light that we bear
is knowledge of God’s Glory
seen in Jesus’ face.

We are afflicted,
persecuted and struck down,
but we are not crushed.

We have been perplexed
but not driven to despair,
nor are we alone.

Bearers of the death
of Jesus in our bodies,
his life is here, too.

As long as we live
his death is at work in us;
to shape and renew.

© Ken Rookes 2018

Entering the Kingdom

Haiku of the Spirit

Nic the Pharisee
worthy leader of the Jews,
slipped away one night.

Locating Jesus
he pressed him with his questions.
Tell me what it means.

Truly I tell you
if you would see God’s kingdom,
you must be reborn

How can these things be?
Can one return to the womb,
to be born once more?

It’s a Spirit thing.
The flesh is not important;
true life comes from God.

Unconstrained, the wind
unseen blows where it chooses;
so, too, the Spirit.

Earthly things confound!
When I speak things heavenly
how will you believe?

For the sake of love
God’s only Son lived with us
that we might know life.

He came among us
not to judge or to condemn
but to give us hope.

 

© Ken Rookes 2018