Postscript

 Haiku of commission

John writes his postscript.

Some disciples go fishing.

The fish elude them.

Daybreak. A man stands

upon the shore: Cast your nets

on the other side!

The nets are weighed down.

So many fish. They struggle

to haul them on board.

It must be the Lord!

Fisher-disciple Peter

jumps in, wades ashore.

A charcoal fire

with bread and fish. The stranger

offers them breakfast.

None ask, Who are you?

Strange observation; must be

different, somehow.

Thrice Peter is asked

Simon, do you love me? He

is hurt. Lord, you know.

You know I love you,

Peter affirms. Feed my sheep;

follow where I lead.

Risen Jesus, Lord:

give us courage to follow,

even unto death.

© Ken Rookes 2022

Be at Peace

 Haiku of resurrection greeting

 

Be at peace, he said,

when he stood among his friends;

but they were frightened.

They had watched him die;

thought that he must be a ghost.

He spoke to calm them.

Asks, Why do you doubt;

of what are you so fearful?

Look, see, it is I!

Joy mixes with doubt:

they see him standing there, but

their minds know better.

Jesus eats some fish.

This is meant to convince them

that he is no ghost.

How to understand?

Speaks of Moses, the Prophets;

says: These things must be.

The scriptures, he said,

tell that the Christ must suffer;

rising the third day.

Hope for humankind:

God’s way of love, forgiveness.

You are witnesses.

© 2021 Ken Rookes

Where is your sting?

Haiku of hope

Paul, persecutor

of the church, born out of time,

met the risen Christ.

I proclaimed to you

the good news about Jesus

and you received it.

I passed on to you

what I received; that Christ died,

was buried, and rose.

Christ appeared to them;

Peter, the twelve and many.

Finally to me.

He lives, don’t doubt it

and we all shall live, sharing

resurrection life.

Death, where is your sting?

Jesus looked you in the eye:

you’ve been defeated!

© Ken Rookes 2020

Posted in response to the Narrative Lectionary, 7th Sunday in Easter.

The purpose

Haiku of peace

John does it better!

His Jesus comes through locked doors.

Well, why shouldn't he?

Imparting Spirit,

Jesus ensures the mission

goes on without him.

Make forgiveness real,

so that all folk are made free,

capable of love.

No room for doubting!

Even Thomas is sorted,

leaving me alone.

Doubt is not opposed

to Faith; that’s the role of Fear.

Doubt and Faith are friends.

My Lord and my God!

Hey, followers of Jesus,

get on with the task!

The book is written,

John asserts, to convince us;

so that we might live.

© Ken Rookes 2020

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

Not unless I see

Haiku of growing hope.

Sunday evening.

The disciples locked the doors,

fearing they were next.

The women’s stories

which might have brought them some hope

went disregarded.

Jesus came and stood

before them: Peace be with you!

His friends were perplexed.

He shows them his hands

to help put their minds at ease.

Yeah, right; that’ll work!

There is rejoicing

along with bewilderment.

The stories were true‽

He sends his friends out,

breathing his Spirit, charging

them to forgive sin.

The absent Thomas,

could not believe that he lives.

Not unless I see!

Seven days later,

so John tells us, Jesus came,

to meet them once more.

Here I am, Thomas!

See the nail-marks in my hands,

touch my wounded side.

Falling to his knees

Thomas cries: My Lord, my God!

Finally convinced.

You see and believe?

Blessed are those who believe

who don’t get to see!

Jesus did much more.

Were the stories written down

they would fill volumes.

© Ken Rookes 2019

An elusive figure

Haiku for us sceptics

The risen Jesus

is an elusive figure:

now you see him. . .

From behind closed doors,

according to the story,

he appeared to them.

His greeting of peace

was not quite enough, so he

showed his hands and side.

He breathed upon them.

Receive the Holy Spirit:

go out and forgive.

Thomas was absent,

didn’t believe the reports.

I must see his wounds.

What is there to see;

what evidence sufficient

to bring us to faith?

Thank you, man of doubts,

Thomas with your questioning;

you speak for me, too.

Risen Lord Jesus,

present with those who question,

be patient with me.

What more can I say?

Should ev’ry story be told

they would fill volumes.

These have been written

that you might know God, have faith,

and life in his name.

© Ken Rookes 2018

Struggling to believe

Haiku for faithful doubters

Thomas, called the Twin,

wasn't there with the others,

struggled to believe.

The resurrection;

life constructed out of death,

the seed bursting forth.

Jesus reaches out,

speaks words of acceptance, life;

inviting us all.

Thank you, friend Thomas,

for your precious gifts to us,

your doubts and struggles.

Jesus shows us faith,

Thomas teaches honest doubt.

We need both of them.

Embrace your questions.

Faith is not opposed by doubt;

no, but by fear.

© Ken Rookes 2017

Do you love me?

The evangelist writes as if for the theatre,

scenes that have been re-enacted

by countless ecclesiastical ensembles for millennia.

In the final act of his disturbing drama

the lead character returns unexpectedly to centre stage

and is brought face to face with a once-trusted friend.

One who famously abandoned him

at a time of desperate need.

We, who also know the bitter taste of failure,

squirm awkwardly with the fisherman

as his master invites him, three times,

to reaffirm his devotion.

The brash confidence of previous boasts

has been supplanted by the shame

of his pre-dawn denials.

Self-assured words no longer come readily

to his lips.

Jesus is gracious, accepting;

he does not chastise.

There is work to be done,

there are journeys to be completed,

there are sheep to be tended;

failures, too, are needed.

© Ken Rookes 2016

Proof

Proof

The previously-dead Jesus meets with Thomas

and invites his sceptical friend

to extend his hand,

to touch his master's injured hands and side.

This, according to gospel-writer John,

is the incontrovertible proof

that his Lord lives.

We find it less convincing.

Nor do the various reported signs work for us

in quite the same way that they did for the evangelist.

What evidence, then,

might persuade you and I that our Lord lives?

The generous acts of his followers? Perhaps.

Loving deeds of disciples? Maybe.

Lives spent courageously for the sake of justice, hope,

and the gospel? Yes,

such as these could be sufficient

to satisfy the rest of us sceptics.

©Ken Rookes 2016

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