Every day for forty days,
or thereabouts, the wilderness Jesus
awakens among the rocks and the dust
to face his ever-present question.
He yearns for the divine words to come,
for the answer to be chiselled among the rocks;
to either confirm his crazy notions
or to set him free.
Then he might return to his friendly
mallet, plane and carpenter’s bench.
and his dreams could embrace
the possibilities of an ordinary life,
with the more regular adventures
of home, wife and parenthood.
As the pangs of hunger grow
his senses sharpen in intensity;
and the testings build.
It is the wild thoughts,
the uninvited ones that have intruded
for some time now
(or have they always been there?)
that force their ascendancy
over the good and respectable ones.
The wilderness Jesus sighs,
not with regret,
but with an aching determination.
It will be difficult;
it might even be lonely.
© Ken Rookes 2011
and a new one!
