At Capernaum

 

Haiku for making a start

Jesus hung out with

Simon, Andrew, James and John;

his first disciples.

The Capernaum

sermon completed, Jesus

entered Simon’s house.

His mother-in-law

being crook, Simon informed

Jesus, who healed her.

Quick recovery;

being a woman she got

straight back to serving.

With dusk the Sabbath

ended; the townsfolk came out

seeking to be healed.

Before dawn he left

to find a deserted place,

so that he might pray.

They went and found him.

Ev’ryone’s looking for you,

wants your healing touch!

There are other towns

where my message is needed;

I must go there, too.

© Ken Rookes 2021

Come

Haiku for the ready

First, John the Baptist.

Mark moves him from centre-stage,

has him arrested.

Proclaiming good news

Jesus came to Galilee:

The time is fulfilled!

The Kingdom of God

comes nearer with every word

that I speak to you.

Simon and Andrew,

fishing brothers casting nets;

Jesus calls to them.

Come and follow me,

together we will call folk

into God’s kingdom.

We’ll share divine life,

filled with love, shaped by mercy,

transfigured through hope.

Brothers James and John

mending nets on board their boat,

Jesus calls them, too.

So Simon, Andrew,

James and John, hearing the call,

leave their nets behind.

© Ken Rookes 2021

Going fishing

Going fishing

Piscatorial Haiku

Seven disciples

decided to go fishing:

found themselves a boat.

They went out at night

hoping that the fish would come

but they caught nothing.

Standing on the shore

the stranger shouted advice:

Try the other side!

The nets are breaking;

It must be the Lord! they shout.

Peter heads ashore.

A lakeside fire,

a breakfast of bread and fish

with their risen Lord.

Jesus asks Peter:

Simon, do you love me more?

Lord, you know I do.

Simon, feed my lambs.

Twice more Jesus questions him:

How do you love me?

Eventually

even Simon must get it;

love made real by deeds.

He said, Feed my sheep,

take care of my little lambs.

It’s all about love.

© Ken Rookes 2019

Make him a wonder worker

Haiku for establishing credentials

Jesus the teacher

spoke of forgiveness and love;

the way to true life

Forget other stuff;

love and generosity

create peace and hope.

His words of promise

bring great joy to hungry hearts.

They make him welcome.

But words are one thing:

make him a wonder worker

to prove he is God.

In bed with fever,

Simon’s wife’s mother is ill;

Jesus makes her well.

They came that ev’ning,

the sick and the troubled ones;

all of the city.

Jesus had pity.

He looked on them with mercy,

healed and blessed them all.

On to other towns;

his words must be spread widely.

This is why he came.

Peace and grace abound;

God’s undistinguishing love

is for all people.

© Ken Rookes 2018.

When Jesus calls

Haiku for taking a chance

With John arrested

Jesus withdraws, goes back home;

north, to Galilee.

He leaves Nazareth

and moves to Capernaum.

There he makes his home.

What the prophet said

is about to be fulfilled;

a great light has dawned.

Commencing his work,

he begins to preach. “Repent,

the kingdom comes near.”

Walking by the sea

he sees Andrew and Simon

casting out their nets.

He calls the brothers,

“Come and follow, learn from me;

we'll fish for people.”

Best offer all day!

The fishers laugh, choose the risk,

leave behind their nets.

Further down the shore

He comes across more brothers,

sons of Zebedee.

In their father's boat,

Sons of Thunder, James and John,

also get the call.

In a flash, the pair

stop, weigh their options, and leave

dad to mend the nets.

© Ken Rookes 2017

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

Ready to go

Jesus often walked

the western shore of Lake Galilee

in the vicinity of Capernaum;

reflecting, praying, listening.

Perhaps he enjoyed the lapping of the waves,

the cool of the water on dusty feet,

the sounds, the beauty,

and the relative stillness

of the natural world.

He would have observed industry, too;

men with boats and nets,

and women, unnamed and forgotten,

helping to sort the fish

and effect repairs.

When Jesus made his lakeside invitation

to the brothers, Andrew and Simon,

James and John, suggesting

that soon they would be fishing for people;

was he meeting them for the first time?

Mark’s story does not say so;

but it is sometimes read that way.

More likely it was the culmination

of multiple encounters, conversations,

questions, debates, laughter and speculations;

so that when Jesus was ready to go,

so were these friends.

© Ken Rookes 2015

Feed my sheep

It’s simple,

Simon.
Yes, we all stuff up,
we all disappoint
and let each other down.
Yes, yours was a big one. Three times.
But it’s a divine principle,
you should have grasped it by now.
One of a handful
that the Master revealed in the few years
that he walked among us.
Like the cycle of death and resurrection,
the centrality of love,
the wonder of God’s presence,
living as God’s children,
and the primacy of grace.
Forgiveness, new beginnings.
The idea that losers become winners;
that, freed from the depression of failure,
and made new in God’s Spirit,
everyone can take part in the work
of the kingdom. You too.
Feed God’s sheep,
take care of the lambs,
share the love,
spread the good news. It’s simple;
Simon.

© Ken Rookes