Be tempted

How like you, Jesus,
to claim the moral high ground.
You say you choose the better way
over the easier way;
do they have to be mutually exclusive?
Besides, in our opinion, least resistance
is generally under-rated.
If you have the power, why not use it?
Who cares? They’ll make you king, anyway;
it can be our little secret,
no one else need know.
Our little secret on the way to world peace;
you could make it happen,
if you wanted to.
What makes your way better?
Can you be sure,
and how do you measure the outcomes?
Compromise and pragmatic solutions
have always been the order of the day;
lofty ideals are all very well
but the economy surely can’t afford them.
It’s a low-percentage plan, Jesus;
won’t convince anybody.
Go on; be tempted.

© Ken Rookes 2014

Wilderness questions

Every day for forty days,

or thereabouts, the wilderness Jesus

awakens among the rocks and the dust

to face his ever-present question.

He yearns for the divine words to come,

for the answer to be chiselled among the rocks;

to either confirm his crazy notions

or to set him free.

Then he might return to his friendly

mallet, plane and carpenter’s bench.

and his dreams could embrace

the possibilities of an ordinary life,

with the more regular adventures

of home, wife and parenthood.

As the pangs of hunger grow

his senses sharpen in intensity;

and the testings build.

It is the wild thoughts,

the uninvited ones that have intruded

for some time now

(or have they always been there?)

that force their ascendancy

over the good and respectable ones.

The wilderness Jesus sighs,

not with regret,

but with an aching determination.

It will be difficult;

it might even be lonely.

© Ken Rookes 2011

and a new one!