Easter Poems Revisited….
Because He Knew
Written just for you by the QOE
Easter Sunday, 2010
Revised for April 9, 2023
He sent His Son, His only Son, to earth…because He knew…
That we could never reach a state of Grace.
So, in a lowly manger, in the dark, was Jesus born,
With silver glow of starlight on His face.
Then after humble shepherds and bright angels came to call,
And Kings had left their treasures in the hay,
The loving foster father, a man who trusted dreams,
Packed up his Darling Ones and slipped away.
Because he knew…
That Herod would attempt to find the Boy,
A monarch-powered, bloody expedition.
For Herod, who’d established a quasi-god-like rule,
Had no interest in some Real Deal competition.
Mary taught Him all those things required for a child,
With urgency…for He was only borrowed…
Because she knew that destiny would take her Son away:
The thought was overwhelming in its sorrow.
He lingered in the Temple at Jerusalem, one day;
At 12, He awed the elders with His wisdom.
The frightened parents found Him…and were told,
Because He knew…
That He had to be about His Father’s business.
Galilean Joseph was a carpenter by trade,
So Jesus learned to be a tradesman, too.
Through carpentry, Good Joseph taught Him how to be a man,
To be always on the level, straight and true.
The Miracle at Cana was a sign of things to come,
Soon Jesus left His simple earthly home:
He was baptized…He was tempted, with Disciples by His side,
He set out on foot the Holy Land to roam.
Jesus preached the gospel, the Good News for mankind,
That the Love of God is limitless and free.
Because He knew…
That time was running short, He travelled far,
Speaking high upon the mount and on the sea.
His miracles were powerful…He even raised the dead:
He was desperate to bring focus to His word….
Because He knew…humanity was fickle in belief…
Their fragile faith? A wounded, broken bird.
But, the Father’s sacred purpose and His destiny were One,
Each step upon the way was His to do.
So, as He gathered followers, foes were gathered, too;
Yet on He preached and healed…because He knew.
With eyes upon Jerusalem, as Passover drew near,
With ancient prophecy His inner guide,
He sent His close disciples for a donkey and a room;
About Him there was not a shred of pride.
Yes…History records His simple canter into town,
In dusty clothes upon a donkey’s back,
As peals of adulation echoed all along the way,
As palms were waved and laid upon the track.
They would have crowned Him King that day: they wanted Him to rule,
But Earth was not a kingdom that He craved;
Not until the reason He had come had been fulfilled,
And ALL His Father’s children could be saved.
With shadows of Golgotha hov’ring in His mind,
With love for every gentile, every Jew,
He plodded toward a horror that he could have waved away….
He did it for us all…because He knew.
Skies grew dark, and thunder rolled, as Temple drapes were torn,
Lightning ripped the tapestries to ropes.
The Lord forgave His torturers, and then gave up the ghost:
With it went our fragile faith and hope.
Then was the darkest Sabbath that man has ever known…
Because they thought Messiah was entombed.
Such agony the hours ‘til that glorious First day morn:
The grave, unsealed, was just an empty room.
Because He knew…that human doubt is stronger than belief,
He visited disciples for a time.
The Son of God had conquered even death to vanquish sin…..
To prove He is our Saviour…and sublime.
Before the dawn of time, He saw the nature of mankind;
The best of us inconstant and untrue.
So, out of love, He gave Himself in barter for our souls,
To save us for…Himself….
Because He knew.
Palm Sunday Began a Week That Changed the World
In these last few years that have changed the world in strange and frightening ways, I can’t help thinking of a week that changed the world in mystical, far-reaching ways that continue to echo through time millennia after their occurrence. The week began with Palm Sunday and led through the Passion of the crucifixion to the miracle of Easter.
Repeating, in slightly altered form, the poem that follows is becoming a trend in this blog….but if it speaks to even one heart or mind this time around, it will have “paid for its keep” and more.
On Sunday,
There were swaying palms,
Strewn on the ground, held overhead;
A waving sea of welcome,
Full of passion....too soon dead.
There was teaching in the Temple,
Eager listeners leaning in,
Focused on the Master
And deliverance from sin.
Some saw Him as a danger
To authority and Law;
Others hoped he was Messiah,
Come to blunt the Roman claw.
In the midst of adulation,
He knew the end was soon,
Good-bye in every gesture
Sizzled in that Upper Room.
It was a true Last Supper,
The last that all would share,
For in a few short hours
Souls and hopes would be laid bare.
Betrayal, shame and torture,
Denial by a friend,
The jeering of the masses,
Crucifixion at the end.
In an agony of anguish,
Pain on pain would be deployed:
All hope for a Messiah
Might be totally
Destroyed.
“It is finished,” cried the Master,
For no miracle had come.
Jesus had just hung there,
So, He must not be God’s Son.
But, guards of Rome were frightened
When earthquakes shook the ground,
And bodies of long-buried dead
Spilled forth, and wandered ‘round.
The Temple drape was shredded,
And as anguish conquered sense,
The Loved Remains were shut away
So Sabbath could commence.
The tomb was sealed and guarded,
Magdalene a vigil kept.
Rome saw the tomb securely sealed:
The “Jesus people" wept.
Night fell…..a day…..another night:
New dawn, at last, would bring
The freedom to attend the corpse
That should have been a King.
On
That far-off
Early morning,
That first Easter in the world,
A silent tomb stone rolled away,
Grave-clothes all unfurled.
In that dawn-tinged, misty moment,
When time seemed to hold its breath,
With the loneliest vigil over,
Still the memory of His death
Fell like a blow near lethal
At that most helpless hour,
And the strength to just continue
Seemed beyond
One’s greatest power.
Into that taut, tense dawning,
Arms full of grim supplies,
Came the Magdalene, all grieving
And not welcoming sunrise.
So,
Imagine her confusion,
Her suspicion and despair –
When she’d come to tend her Master,
But His body was not there.
The heavy stone was rolled away,
Which had secured the tomb:
The most historic place on Earth
Was just another empty room.
Well, not quite empty….In the gloom
An angel lingered near.
“Why seek the living among the dead?
He’s risen……
He’s not here.”
Mary turned to walk away,
And Christ,
Alive,
Was there.
At first she didn’t know Him,
Blinded by her tears and care.
He asked why she was weeping,
Why did her sadness burn.
And then,
He called her by her name;
“Mary”…
And her joy returned!
He said, “Go tell what you have seen,
The others to convince.”
In that instant,
It
Was
EASTER.
It’s been Easter ever since.