How good is this, God? or The best form of welfare.

Haiku for the relevant Minister.

Those who are righteous
can treat others with contempt,
Jesus warned, beware!

The tax collector,
lowly, the Pharisee, grand,
stood in the temple.

The Pharisee prayed
proud, God it’s good to be me,
I thank you for that.

I’m such a fine bloke,
honest, blameless, quite unlike
that dole collector.

The tax collector
bowed his head, God, have mercy
on me, a sinner!

The second went home
justified, his prayer answered.
Not the Pharisee.

They are in control,
still, the Pharisees, with their
contempt for the poor.

How good is this, God,
that we are not drug users
and welfare cheaters?


© Ken Rookes 2019

Not like other people

Attending the temple,

two men, one upright and proud,

one without merit.

The Pharisee stands,

eyes raised, confident and proud,

boasting before God.

I'm such a good man,

honest, diligent, faithful,

I fast and I tithe.

Go right ahead, God,

pour out your many blessings;

I am deserving.

The tax collector

stands apart from prying eyes;

head bowed to the ground.

Lowers his sad eyes,

aware of his need for grace;

God, be merciful.

They each return home.

The first untouched. The second

justified by God.

© Ken Rookes 2016

An alabaster jar

As is their wont, the Pharisees grumble

at the wastefulness of a woman;

who, in this story of beauty and grace,

spills her precious ointment upon Jesus' feet.

They also grumble

at the wastefulness of the anointed one,

who, in his larger story of grace and beauty

pours love upon the undeserving.

Forgiveness and love, spilled with abandon;

this is the message of his living.

Consider this;

you who are wont to grumble.

© Ken Rookes 2016

Those are the modern day sadducees!

I am flawed

 

I am flawed:
not what I could be,
not what I should be.
I need your grace, Lord,
to paint me a picture
to see what I might become.
Let me look into your mirror,
and let me be brave and strong
and filled with enough love
to go at least part of the way.
God, be merciful to me,
a sinner.

© Ken Rookes 2013

Standing far off

 

Standing alone
while the good people pray out loud;
aching with the deep sadness of one
whose life lacks the easy handles
of the uncomplicated
and comfortably righteous.
Standing separate
in the unfashionable garb of the outsider,
with head scarf and turban
as the indelible red stamp
inviting the special treatment
of those who are different.
Standing in isolation
in the designated space
in the appointed queue,
watching as doors are opened
for a moment
and shut again, tightly.
Standing apart,
yearning to belong,
waiting for the word, crying:
Lord, have mercy!

© Ken Rookes

My own ponderings

Pondering our situation in the church at the moment. The churches in our Synod are going through a process where many churches are being sold to raise money to cover a debt, This sale is being done, at times against the will of the congregations concerned. Of course the Synod has attempted to do it in a pastoral manner and to follow through where there is anger and grief (and there is a bit of that), but we are left with a great deal of hurt and blame perhaps, a little self-righteousness.
Into this situation comes Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector and i cannot help but feel that it speaks to our human situation. When we are hurt and angry, we can tend to lash out and try and blame others, making ourselves out to be more righteous in our pain. When we are in places of power and influence, we are vulnerable to that sense of blame and therefore to being defensive of our position and our own 'righteousness'. In both cases we put up walls between each and and between ourselves and our God.
Jesus' answer?
Recognise our own weaknesses, our own vulnerability and open our hearts to God and to the other. Break down the walls that our self-righteousness puts between us.
Easily said, i know. But in the power of the Christ? Who knows?
Gordon Bannon

http://jtbarts.com/2011/09/the-parable-of-the-pharisee-and-the-tax-collector/

The Pharisee and the tax collector

The Pharisee and the Tax-Collector by Duncan Long

What Jesus is interested in.

 "Jesus is not interested in our comparing ourselves with the Pharisee or the tax collector or anyone else. Jesus is not interested in our identifying who is like the Pharisee today and who is like the tax collector. Jesus is interested in our hearts being open before God and so being open to discovering what is of true and ultimate worth, discovering the unique person we were created to be. The judgment of God can be a window into how our life can be and how our life has not been all that it could have been. If, as and when we can hear God's judgment in the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector, then beating our breasts and saying, "God be merciful to me, a sinner," is not a bad response. It will renew our trust in the source of our life. It will strengthen us to live in love even when we find ourselves in turmoil and foment."
http://day1.org/1072-judgment