Who am I?
Haiku of the question.
Near Caesarea
he turns to his disciples,
asks them, Who am I?
Some say Elijah;
others, John the Baptiser,
one of the prophets.
But what do you say?
he asks them, looking for an
answer more profound.
Peter finds the words.
You must be the Messiah!
(Whatever that means.)
The one that God sends
will suffer, be rejected
by those in power.
When he speaks of death
the disciples are disturbed.
Weren’t expecting that!
Peter finds the words.
Don’t talk of such things, Jesus;
the Christ cannot die.
Those who would follow
the paths to life, they must learn
to lay life aside.
They must be ready
to deny themselves, to take
their cross upon them.
For the gospel’s sake
you must do the things I do;
you must die to self.
© Ken Rookes 2021
