The trip to Bethlehem

Haiku responding to Lk 2:1-14

A head-count becomes

the occasion for the trip

to Bethlehem town.

Joseph took Mary

to the city of David;

he was from that tribe.

Mary delivered

her baby in a stable.

(No room in the inn!)

Shepherds in the fields,

(low on the pecking order),

watching sheep at night.

An angel arrived,

speaking God's good news: Fear not,

I tell of great joy!

A child has been born

in Bethlehem, David's town,

a Saviour, the Christ.

This will be a sign;

he's lying in a manger,

wrapped in bands of cloth.

A mob of angels

turn up, praising God, singing:

Peace to all on earth!

© Ken Rookes 2025 

I am Joseph

 

Reflecting upon Gen 45:3-11, 15

Haiku of forgiveness

Joseph shows himself

to his brothers. It is I!

How is my father?

His brothers don't speak,

worried that Joseph might take

his revenge on them.

Come closer to me.

I am your brother, the one

you sold as a slave.

Do not be angry

or distressed; God has used me

to preserve much life.

Two years of famine

is followed by five more; God

sent me to save you.

Go to my father,

say, Your son Joseph is made

lord of all Egypt.

Come down to Egypt,

don't delay; I will provide

ev'rything you need.

This is God's doing!

Joseph kissed all his brothers

and wept upon them.

Ken Rookes © 2025

The big reveal

Haiku for siblings

We skip to the end

of the tale: the big reveal!

Joe and his brothers.

Great is the weeping!

The Egyptians, dismissed, hear

the sounds of Joe’s tears.

My father, tell me,

Joseph asks of his brothers;

is he still alive?

The brothers tremble,

knowing the wrong they have done.

What will Joseph do?

Joe draws them closer.

You sold me, but it’s all right;

the result is good.

God planned to send me

to this land to preserve life.

Now I rule it all.

Five more years of drought.

Bring your households to Goshen;

there is plenty here.

Go, tell my father,

tell him that you have seen me.

Hurry, bring him here!

They kiss and they weep;

this family reunion;

of forgiveness, grace.

© Ken Rookes 2023

Dreamy boy Joseph

Haiku of family strife

Dreamy boy Joseph,

 

flash coat setting him apart,

 

from jealous brothers.

 

They had good reason

 

to hate him. The favourite

 

dobbed his brothers in.

 

Israel sent him

 

to look in on his brothers;

 

found them near Dothan.

 

They saw him coming,

 

conspired to kill the dreamer;

 

blame wild animals.

 

Reuben intercedes.

 

Don’t kill; throw him in this pit.

 

That is what they did.

 

They stripped his flash robe

 

and put it aside. Could prove

 

useful, later on.

 

Some traders came by.

 

Better that we sell, not kill;

 

that is what they did.

 

Twenty silver coins,

 

the price of their brother; sold,

 

and bound for Egypt

 

 

© Ken Rookes 2023

 

Stable and shepherds

Haiku of the nativity

 

We love Luke’s stories

with the stable and shepherds,

humble and common.

Joseph, his child-bride,

the journey to Bethlehem,

no place of welcome.

I imagine them;

humble northerners, seeking.

Will we welcome them?

Making folk welcome

is not on our agenda,

Sorry, there’s no room.

In a stable, shed;

an improvised bed, cradle.

Yes, these will do fine.

Wrap him in cloth strips.

Thus they will dress him when Luke

concludes his story.

The angels fly in

with shining invitations

for lowly shepherds.

The shepherds turn up,

take in the wonder; return,

telling ev’ryone.

© Ken Rookes 2021

The gospel puzzle

Haiku of resolution.

The gospel puzzle:

Jesus the Galilean,

born in Bethlehem.

Rounding his story

Matthew give us more angels

to sort the mess out.

Despotic Herod’s

plans are spoiled, the infant

retreats to safety.

The threat is given

substance in a massacre;

a lucky escape!

Acts of cruelty

abound in human affairs;

why not another?

So the family

seeks refuge, South, in Egypt.

Like their ancestors.

It falls to Joseph,

family head, provider,

to protect his child.

Micah took us to

Bethlehem for the birth, time

now for Nazareth!

The conundrum solved!

The refugee family

settles in the North.

© Ken Rookes 2019

Natal Narratives

Haiku for a birthday

History retreats

as the birth stories unfold,

highlighting wonder.

Natal narratives,

much loved by card designers;

but no shepherds here!

Matthew takes Joseph,

scripting him the leading role,

puts him centre stage.

Found to be with child!

Mary; what to do with her?

Joseph measures up.

As the story goes

an angel helps him decide,

to do the right thing.

The child, he is told,

is conceived through the Spirit.

Most improbable!

Hooray for Joseph!

By obedience and love

the story proceeds.

The child will be born

and the course of salvation

will not be hindered.

© Ken Rookes 2019

The birth

Haiku of wonder

When a king is born

the stories must reflect it

with wonder and awe.

Apart from angels,

this narrative is humble,

with a common cast.

Comes to Bethlehen,

the tradie with his girl-bride,

about to give birth.

A shed out the back

of a packed-out small-town pub.

Nothing flash in that!

A son is born, wrapped

in cloth strips and put to bed

in a feeding trough.

Shepherds get the news:

the Messiah has been born,

look for a baby.

This will be the sign:

a baby in a manger,

in David’s city.

The shepherds decamped

to see for themselves the child,

as they had been told.

They told ev’ryone

about the child, the one born

to save his people.

© Ken Rookes. 2018

A wondrous yarn

Haiku of an often told story

There are no records

of the birth of the Messiah;

just an old story.

An anxious couple

seeking a place of shelter.

The time is at hand.

In a crowded town,

a stable, strangely, becomes

a delivery ward.

A baby is born,

this thing of joy and wonder.

Happens ev'ry day.

Shepherds tending sheep,

angels winging in the sky;

a fabulous yarn.

Go and check it out!

The baby in a manger,

with his mum and dad.

The infant is found;

it was as the angel said.

They are all amazed.

The shepherds return

singing, “Glory!” praising God,

They tell everyone.

© Ken Rookes 2016

Let's get married

Let’s get married

The nightmares of recent weeks
did not retreat with the decision
to allow his betrothed
to leave quietly, and have the child
in a far place among distant relatives.
There the shame
would not be so bitter.
the girl was young and pretty,
and would soon find a new husband,
and a father for her child.
The pain of her apparent rejection
was sharpened by the love
still twisting the stomach
of the gentle carpenter,
who had toiled with mallet
and chisel for many years
so that he might take a wife.
He had not seen it coming;
refused to believe it
until the swelling evidence
could no longer be denied.
So, when, in a dream, the angel
spoke of the strange purposes
of an even stranger God,
Joseph grabbed the offered straw.
Copping the nudges and the sneers,
he took Mary home to be his wife.

© Ken Rookes

How many?

How many?

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way.

In a similar manner

do messiahs,

heroes, battlers,

has-beens and failures

begin their living.

A young woman,

barely pubescent,

finds herself expecting a child.

The man is surprised;

the man is always surprised.

A decision is needed.

The responsible thing,

the correct thing.

The ennobling thing,

the loving thing.

How many?

How many angels

will be needed

for the man to be persuaded

to do the right thing?

And how many tears,

Both of joy and sorrow,

will be shed on the journey

to marriage, the birthing place,

and beyond.

© Ken Rookes 2013

Bethlehem Ephrathah

The rich had taken the best rooms

in the inns, and the private homes too.

The moderately well-off took the rest.

The poor camped where they could,

gathered around fires, swapped yarns,

got counted, and made their plans

to head home. Bethlehem

had taken on the appearance

of a refugee camp;

the city fathers were not impressed.

Joseph and Mary had been among

the campers by the creek,

until the contractions

of the impending birth drove them

to seek a more substantial shelter.

In a stable the animals seemed to enjoy

a tolerable standard of accommodation;

they decided to join them.

There the child would be born

and God made welcome.

© Ken Rookes

Flash-Coat Joseph

He said, "I am your brother, Joseph,

whom you sold into Egypt." Gen. 45:4

Joseph with the flash coat:

it was not your arrogant dreams of

sibling superiority that showed us

that you were a man of God.

Nor the miracle of survival

that saw you arrive, bloodied but intact,

in far-off Egypt where your dreams

would finally come true.

It was not this that stamped you as one

who knew the generous God of your

fathers; nor even your explanation

of the Pharaoh's dreams, by which

the nation was spared great suffering,

and your own family was fed.

Sure, these things showed

that Yahweh was with you;

but we knew that your heart

was with Yahweh

when you forgave

your brothers.

© Ken Rookes

Let's get married.

The nightmares of recent weeks
did not retreat with the decision
to allow his betrothed
to leave quietly, and have the child
in a far place among distant relatives.
There the shame
would not be so bitter.
the girl was young and pretty,
and would soon find a new husband,
and a father for her child.
The pain of her apparent rejection
was sharpened by the love
still twisting the stomach
of the gentle carpenter,
who had toiled with mallet
and chisel for many years
so that he might take a wife.
He had not seen it coming;
refused to believe it
until the swelling evidence
could no longer be denied.
So, when, in a dream, the angel
spoke of the strange purposes
of an even stranger God,
Joseph grabbed the offered straw.
Copping the nudges and the sneers,
he took Mary home to be his wife.



© Ken Rookes
An old one for this week.