Forget the wonders and signs;
they’re always dodgey and ambiguous,
they prove nothing.
The story is still amazing,
but with qualifications;
all these Christians,
as they eventually came to be called,
cashing in their retirement investments
and giving the proceeds away,
keeping things in common,
sharing as any had need.
The “Jerusalem experiment,” so-called;
it couldn’t last.
This failed attempt at socialist spirituality
proves, according to some,
that all socialism is a failure.
But it wasn’t the love and the sharing
that didn’t work, it was the theology.
It’s easy to give your stuff away
when you are convinced that Jesus
is about to re-enter the earthly sphere
to set up the kingdom
that he failed to establish the first time.
Perhaps tomorrow, next week;
certainly by next year!
As I drive north through Epsom
a presumptuous billboard
confidently assures me
that Jesus’ second coming
is as certain as his first.
But I am a theological sceptic
as well as a socialist,
and remain unconvinced;
wondering if, maybe, the purpose of story
is to challenge me to be faithful and generous,
even if Jesus never returns.
© 2011 Ken Rookes
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