The Sea of Galilee

-

(Matthew 4.12-22; Mark 1.14-20; Luke 4.14,15; 5.1-11)
 
I labor with my hands.
Hard calloused hands.
 
I know work and little rest.
My night is finished,
but you ask me to cast out one more time.
 
See these hands, teacher,
these tired hands.
They have mended nets
torn by a day’s drudgery.
 
See these muscles,
they are weary and seared.
I have nothing to show for my efforts
but sweat and ingrained filth.
 
And you ask me to cast out on the sea again.
 
My brother hears you speak
and he brings you to me,
hoping I will listen.
Your words excite James and John,
but they see life differently than I.
 
I need to feed my family.
My brother and Zebedee’s sons chase prophets
and harbor dreams
that our world might be different,
                some day.
 
Your eyes look into my soul.
What do you see in me?
A body fatigued from its labor.
A soul trapped in trial.
I do as I say and not as I wish
 
You preach without words,
simply a knowing gaze
                in your eyes,
and despite my stubbornness I listen.
And our nets are cast overboard one last time.
 
I am prone to fall on my knees
as the seams of our nets burst with fish.
I do not deserve
the miracle you give.
 
I am a wretched sinner
who has no merit to speak your name,
but you can take these hands,
these calloused and tired hands,
and cause them to labor
 
                                for You. 


copyright 2016 - Donald P James Jr

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jesus in the Snow

-
Image
This picture hung on the side of my parents refrigerator when I was a child.  I was always intrigued by the black and white blotches which did not seem to form anything recognizable.  One day I asked my mother about the photograph.  She said it was the face of Jesus and that if I looked closely I could see Him. I could not for the life of me see our Lord in the meaningless menagerie of spots.  I remember standing at the side of the refrigerator staring at the picture as it hung there almost taunting me. One day, in my teen years, when I wasn't really trying to see the face in the black and white blotches anymore, I saw Him.  Maybe I needed to see the face more, at that age, when I was on the threshold of adulthood then when I was a child.  Now, as the years have passed, I find it difficult not to see Him in the patterns of melting snow on the mountainside. ~ I have a question for you.  When you look at the patterns of melting snow, do you see black and white blotches
Read more

Matthew 19

-
Image
Does our law allow these things? And with the question He points back to scripture. "Have you not read". All the answers are right there. But you have to have eyes to see and ears to hear. Why then... and but...? Because you are dense, hard to teach. Two shall unite, man and woman, as in the days of creation. No man may separate or redefine. They ask a question, specific, and the Lord's answer encompasses so much more. They question divorce and He defines marriage. Does His law allow these things? copyright 2018 - Donald P James Jr
Read more

Have You Not Listened?

-
Image
The Sermon on the Mount 1873 - Woodcut - Author Unknown Have you not listened? You seemed to have turned away. You look at wars and long for peace. Your news media divides you, regardless of what you believe. Those who speak for you, speak only for themselves. Some hunger for bread when there is plenty. Some wish for comfort, when they have a pillow. Some long for Camelot, but that was long ago. Have you not listened? Your culture claims to have no need of ears. You seek sameness when you are made with uniqueness. You seek a moral high ground you cannot bear. You embrace twisted ideologies that thrive in no garden. Money is your god. Power is your love. Pride is your death. From Eden to the Temple, from the manger to the cross, sonnets of the truth are spoken. Have you listened?  Have you not listened, without twisting what you hear? You seem to have dug your graves in sand. Wars will always be, for not all children seek peace. Division stands in its strength, as long as you are its st
Read more