John the baptiser

Original painting by Rev Dr Wes Cambell
used with permission

John the Baptiser

An original Ouil Painting by Rev Dr Wes Campbell
Used with permission

Crying in the wilderness

Crying in the wilderness,
weeping in the bush;
feeling some of the pain, fear,
despair and disappointment.

The prophets have been silenced;
only their tears remain,
dripping unseen from holy cheeks.

They say the Lord is coming.
Perhaps it is the tears,
the necessary tears,
by which our hearts are prepared.

Weeping in the wilderness,
crying in the bush.

© Ken Rookes 2013

Yes, I know the exegesis is dodgey, but it might hold some truth, anyway.

The Plunge

Jesus, source of living water,

when you went to the Jordan that day

to hear the Baptiser’s cry,

what did you come to see?

Did you go seeking advice

about the lonely life of the prophet?

Were you expecting to be moved

by his message? When you answered

his call to repent and joined him in the waters,

what were you thinking?

How did you decide that his strident

call to sinners needed the tempering

of love’s gracious invitation?

Tell me, Jesus, was there already

an inner growing gnawing realisation

that your carpenter’s skill

with timber, joints and nails

was about to give way to a new vocation

of stories, speakings, sharings

and sacrifice?

Or was it only when the Baptiser

took you into the cool water,

and you emerged, saturated,

and kissed by the Spirit-dove,

that you had any idea

of what the voice might be trying to say,

or of what a beloved son

might be expected to do?

© Ken Rookes