The empty tomb

Haiku of surprise

Mark gives us terror,

confusion, with the women

fleeing from the tomb.

Mary Magdalene,

much maligned, was there for him,

in life and in death.

The first day, early,

both Marys and Salome

went to anoint him.

We have the spices,

but who will remove the stone

that we may enter?

They came to the tomb;

the stone had been rolled away.

A man in white spoke.

No need for alarm!

You seek Jesus who was killed;

he’s not here, he lives!

Tell his disciples,

Peter too; they will find him

there, in Galilee.

They were terrified,

the women. They fled the scene

and spoke to no one.

© Ken Rookes 2024

Love's duty

Haiku of the dawn

The Sabbath had passed.

They came to tend to his corpse,

to confront their pain.

The three: Salome,

the Marys, women of faith,

doing love’s duty.

As the sun rises

they bring their aching sorrow,

their baskets of spice.

Who will roll the stone?

One more barrier to face

and to overcome.

Look! The stone is gone!

Come inside the dark unknown,

discover the truth.

A youth dressed in white

greets them, Do not be alarmed!

Not much chance of that!

The tomb is empty.

What are we to make of this?

Does he really live?

Mark leaves us with doubt,

bewilderment and terror

as they flee in fear.

© Ken Rookes 2020

One for the Narrative Lectionary, responding to Mark's story of the empty tomb.

But what of the Poor?

Haiku of poured-out love

Ah, Lord Jesus,

how to show my love for you,

what to make it real?

The very costly

ointment of nard spills over

his face and his hair

Splashed with abandon

in a profound act of love.

A perfumed present.

Loving is costly.

Effort, commitment, struggle;

also many tears.

But what of the poor?

Yes, of course, we all must spend

love upon them, too.

This woman has done

something beautiful for me;

for my burial.

Will I love this way,

with my naked heart exposed,

accepting the pain?

© Ken Rookes 2020

Posting for Palm Sunday, Narrative Lectionary;  Mark's version of the Anointing at Bethany

a world of terror

"Mark takes us into a world of terror. He will go on to speak of trial and betrayal (9-13), of desecration and fleeing refugees (14-20), and again of false hopes and predictions (21-23). The whole climaxes in cosmic disasters (24-25) from which the only hope is divine intervention in human form: the coming of the Son of Man (26-27). It is a supernatural solution, a vision of hope that transcends the categories of human achievement. Terror beyond description is being matched by hope beyond description.
It is hard to enter this world - then and now. We lose our way if we make the passage predict the future. Writings of this kind characteristically enter the terror only to leap into fantasies of hope. We may discard them as unfulfilled and irrelevant or revise them like Matthew and Luke with some updating and seek to maintain their vision. Two millennia later updating is even more difficult! Defiant hope remains. Naming the terror remains. Facing the ambiguities in desperate situations about who speaks for Christ remains."
http://wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/MkPentecost25.html