Sing, Zion's daughters

 

Haiku of hope for people who are oppressed.

Sing, Zion's daughters,

shout, rejoice, be exultant

with your whole being.

Your judgement has passed,

your enemies are scattered;

the Lord has done this.

You need fear no more,

don't grow weak or disheartened;

God is in your midst.

The Lord rejoices

over you. With gladness God

renews you in love.

Disaster is gone,

there is no reproach; I'll deal

with your oppressors.

I will save the lame,

and gather in the outcast,

removing their shame.

I will bring you home,

your fortunes will be restored,

all earth will praise you.

. . . .

When you've been shown grace,

Jesus says, you're expected

to also show grace.

No longer oppressed,

you'd hope they'd extend that same

freedom to others.

© Ken Rookes 2024

Reflecting on Zephaniah 3:14-29

You shall plant vineyards

 Haiku of restoration

Everlasting love.

The stuff that matters. From God.

All else falls away.

The time is coming

When I’ll reclaim my people;

I will be their God

They survived the sword,

found grace in the wilderness;

the Lord came to them.

Such big promises;

God’s faithfulness continues.

Nothing can stop it.

My people are lost;

in love I shall restore them;

I’ll build them again.

Take your tambourines

and dance in celebration;

our God is with us!

You shall plant vineyards

on Samaria’s mountains

and gather the fruit.

On Ephraim’s hillsides

they’ll call: ”Let’s go to Zion

to worship the Lord”

© Ken Rookes

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