The new

Haiku responding to Hebrews 12:18-29

It is diff'rent now,

not like in the past, with God

clothed in fire and smoke.

Trembling and awe,

encountering God with fear;

that's how it once was.

You who are in Christ

meet the living God with joy

and great festival.

We come to Jesus,

who forged the new covenant

between us and God.

Do not refuse him

when he speaks words of freedom,

accept his life-gift.

God speaks: creation

trembles. Earthly things will pass;

those from God remain.

God's promised kingdom

cannot be shaken. It's ours;

God's gift. Be thankful.

Showing gratitude,

we bring our worship to God,

along with our lives.

© Ken Rookes 2025

Gratitude

Reflecting on Deut 26:1-11

Haiku of first fruits

The ancient story

of foundation: Israel

is given a land.

Show your gratitude

take all of the first fruits, make

an offering to God.

Take it to the priest,

say, I have come to this land,

as God swore to us.

Our fathers wandered,

finding themselves in Egypt;

there they became slaves.

Harshly treated, we

cried out to the Lord, the God

of our ancestors.

The Lord heard our voice,

saw our affliction, our toil,

and our oppression.

The Lord brought us out

of Egypt with a strong hand

and an outstretched arm.

God gave us this land,

flowing with milk and honey.

These gifts show our thanks.

© Ken Rookes 2025

In no way would I suggest that this ancient story has relevance to the situation od Israel and Palestine today

Tepid hospitality

Turning away from the righteous Pharisee
he looked with love
upon the subject of his host’s derision.
The unnamed woman knew her place,
and had knowingly disregarded all the conventions,
upsetting more than a jar of ointment.
The consensus was clear: this woman
did not fit in with polite company.
She belonged out there,
in the shadowed places,
where ambiguities abound
and sinners lead their anxious lives.
Not in here, where the well-mannered Simon
extends his tepid hospitality
to this latest sensation,
the wandering teacher from the provinces;
he, at least, had an invitation.
With his feet still wet from ointment and tears,
the man speaks softly of warm forgiveness,
of welcome, gratitude, love and peace.
He does not care for the cold and calculating rules
by which respectable society is ordered;
and outrageously says so.


© Ken Rookes 2013