Thursday 1 May 2014

LECTIONARY THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER: Road (Luke 24:13-35)

Road

Dust unsettles with every motion forward
Heavy hearts are carried, encased in cracked clay
So much has passed and so much gone awry
Then whispers of strange happenings today

Magic on the lips that shared rumours
Too unsubtle to actually be true
If only eyes could corroborate
Making sense of this news, this view

Words interweave with memories
And hopes and prophecies dance
Held together in tension
The central characters of this romance

As steps pass beyond steps
Shattered dreams are shared
Longing slips seamlessly into speech
Recalled phrases of him who dared

The village beyond the horizon
Will host this night, with its terrors
Its confusing claims
Through conversation tackling errors

There must be a truth hidden in the kernel
Of words spoken to Peter
And the others as they shared memories
Of a dead man disappearing into ether

Affably, affronted, aggressive, antagonised
Clues of this mystery are lost in arid sun
White linen, tangled strips
Enlivened promise causing Peter to run

Two pairs of dusty feet joined by another
A pilgrimage being played out
Journeying together, three as one
A mysterious stranger, without a doubt

Movements stop and eyes hold the ground
In longing gazes, shoulders hunched
What to say, where to start this sorry tale
Words chewed out behind teeth clenched

This red week’s happenings played out once more
Among unfamiliar friends on the road
Burdens shared and cut to thirds
Weighed down by grief’s unbearable load

But he who walked alone sighs and whispers, “fools”
Beginning at the earliest beginnings
The outsider shares truths hidden in history
And with every word shared living hope springs

There are words in the Prophets
For what has this week occurred
Ancient texts are brought to life on this man’s lips
And there is understanding to be found no matter how absurd

Sun’s heat begins to lose its rage
And tired feet near their destination
Yet the stranger steps onward as if to pass
By to keep going, walking, his vocation

But huddling together two voices call out to one
“There is rest to be found, rest and food”
All three pass through the door’s frame
To table they went perfection’s setting for what ensued

The stranger assumes the role of host
And gives thanks, breaks and blesses bread
Torn crumbs fall to the table
As eyes suddenly alive lose scales of dread

Before their gaze they know
More clearly than anything they’ve known before
That the guest at the table
Is him their heart’s adore

With no opportunity for an eye to blink
And no moment for mouths to form words
The three become two and there is
Recognition in the soul’s that are stirred

Scripture’s secrets had spilled out before them
A deep ache was the sign that was given
Clues that had been ignored come to fruition
Both stood by a new purpose driven

Two pass again through the door’s frame
Eyes focused beyond the dark horizon
From what had been their destination
To those God’s glory might enlighten

No second wasting these tired feet
Speak with every step of a new purpose
And a new word to share
Across the dry and dusty surface

To the crowd congregated they venture
Forward into history’s new dawning
Stepping past gathering darkness
And walking towards a new morning

“He is risen! We have seen”
Is the cry of their heart’s
And as if waking from a dream
The lifelong adventure starts.




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