The man had two sons

for the fourth Sunday in Lent. See note below

Haiku of grace and resentment

The man had two sons,

Loved them both. The younger one

was eager to leave.

My inheritance,

give me my share now, before

I become too old.

When your years are few,

the party goes on and on;

while the money lasts.

All good things must end.

The cash gone, the boy must work;

starves, while the pigs eat.

Heading for his home,

practising his ‘sorry’ speech:

I am unworthy!

Dad is delighted,

his son is back. Let’s party;

kill the fatted calf!

The older brother

spits the dummy. All these years,

not even a kid!

I am deserving,

my useless brother is not;

I won’t celebrate!

You know I love you,

my Son, you’re always with me;

all that’s mine is yours

Your brother was lost,

now he’s been restored to us:

we have to rejoice.

Try not to resent

the unworthy who receive

their moment of grace.

Remember, you too,

though unworthy, profited

from moments of grace.

© Ken Rookes 2019

I have mistakenly posted this out of sequence: It belongs to the 4th Sunday in Lent. Sorry for the confusion.

Queue jumpers

Jesus, spinner of many improbable

and awkward yarns,

once told a story about vineyard workers.

The workforce grew steadily

as more pickers were recruited

at various points throughout the day.
In the end, the undeserving latecomers

are treated with generosity,

while the twelve-hour labourers

merely get what is fair.

The indignation engendered

by the travelling teacher man

sees his polite audience shaking their heads

in disbelief.

And with the way he put his tale together,

the heat-of-the-day workers,

can’t even complain that the lucky ones

are queue-jumpers.

We, who are theologically informed,

understand that this story is all about divine grace,

improbable and outrageous.

Two millennia on

such generosity still offends.

Unless, of course, it is extended to ourselves.

We, as everyone can see,

are deserving.

© Ken Rookes 2014