GOSPEL OF MARK CHAPTER 1 - 5

GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

The briefest Gospel, that of Mark, and terse
Is one I delight to set down in verse.
It’s manly and no nonsense in its way,
And yet inspires the soul with holy ray.
Some say it was the first to be set down,
And Matthew and Luke copied with a frown.

I doubt we know the ins and outs of all.
It could be all the Gospels in the stall
Are written in the century come late
After the events they claim to relate.
What is so is that the words still ring true,
And by their similarity unto
The pagan myths destroy those ancient tales
Of such idolatry that none avails.

MARK 1

1 Beginning of the gospel of
Jesus Christ, son of God above,
2 As written in the prophets, “See,
I send my messenger to be
Before your face, which shall prepare
The way before you to go there.
3 “The voice of one crying aloud
In wilderness ‘Prepare in crowd
The way of the Lord, make His ways
Straight before Him and for His praise.’”
4 John baptised in the wilderness,
And preached baptism to confess
Repentance for all sins’ remission.
5 And there went out in great ambition
To him all Judea’s land, and
Those of Jerusalem at hand,
And were all baptised by him in
River Jordan confessing sin.
6 And John was clothed with camel’s hair,
A girdle of a skin was there
About his loins, and he did eat
Locusts and wild honey for treat.

Both locusts and camel flesh are for sale
In some markets I’ve visited when pale.
But I have tasted neither, to be true.
The one’s acceptable by Torah’s rue
But not by habit of my stomach’s crew.
The other is acceptable in plight
According to the holy Qur’an’s light.
If John’s fulfilment of the prophecy
By doing of the standard he could see
From Scripture in the desert place and wee,
Then I too may follow his footsteps there,
Without taking the locusts for my share.
Beloved, Your honey is enough for me
As I walk out upon the rocky bare.

7 And he preached, saying “There comes one
Greater than I, when I am done,
The latchet of whose shoes I’m not
Worthy to stoop down and untaut.
8 “I’ve indeed baptised you with water,
But he’ll baptise you with the slaughter
Of holy spirit.” 9 And it came
To pass in those days one by name
Of Jesus from Nazareth came,
From Galilee, and was baptised
By John in Jordan all surprised.
10 And right away when he came out
Of the water, he saw with shout
The heavens opened, and the spirit
Like a dove come on him or near it.
11 And there came a voice from the sky
That said “You are my beloved guy,
In whom I am well pleased to cry.”

Before the Sabbath comes I’m sure to dress
Myself for the baptisms I confess,
And take the day of preparation and
Of congregation for the mark I stand.
And as I rise from waters like a grave,
I know, Beloved, Your greater power to save.
I rise confessed, repented, cold and brave,
And look out all refreshed upon the land.
I hear, Beloved, as it were voice aloud
Come down from heaven, searing through the cloud,
To say that I too am a son of God,
Though lowly, true, and swimming on the sod.
With gasp of new breath, sputtering, I know
That You raise up the soul from death below.

12 Immediately the spirit drove
Him in the wilderness to rove.
13 There he was in the wilderness
Forty days, tempted in distress
Of Satan, and was with the wild
Beasts, and the angels came and smiled
To serve him. 14 Now after that John
Was put in prison and had gone,
Jesus came into Galilee,
Preaching the gospel to the free
Of the kingdom of God to be,
15 And saying “The time is fulfilled,
And the kingdom of God is billed,
Repent and go beyond the mind,
Believing the gospel in kind.”

The Gospel of Jesus has just two points,
But they’re not popular in churchly joints.
The first is Your kingdom is near and dear,
The second is repent for what we hear.
Both issues rest firmly upon the law
Of ten commandments spoken once for awe
On Sinai. So the Gospel is the word
That the commandments never have been blurred.
I do repent, Beloved, as the command
Of Jesus, in the light of things that stand
Firm in the Decalogue, and so I live
On a foundation better than they give
Me in the pew or standing under cross.
The Gospel is just that You are the boss.

16 Now as he walked beside the sea
Of Galilee, of Galilee,
He saw Simon and Andrew there
His brother casting nets for share
Of fish from the sea, for they were
Some fishermen. 17 And Jesus said
“Come after me, and be you led,
And I will make you fishermen
Fitter and able to catch men.”
18 And right away they left their nets
And followed him to place their bets.
19 And when he’d gone a little way
He saw Zebedee’s sons, the brothers
James and John in their boat asway,
Mending their nets among the others.
20 And straightway he called them, and they
Left their father Zebedee lone
In the boat with paid helpers’ drone
And went after him without groan.

The followers of Jesus have come from
The profession of fishermen to drum
Up followers the more. They do not see
A difference in calling, it may be.
If they’re successful, the result is just
The ocean’s being depleted like dust.
The use of nets is what does that, I think.
A sportsman who’s an angler on the brink
Of mountain stream may also take the stock
Down to the danger level on his rock.
Whatever fishermen do, it is not
In interests of the fish in quiet plot.
Jesus reveals a sinister thing here
Prophetic of the church that would appear.

21 Then they went to Capernaum,
And straightway, on the Sabbath day
He entered meritorium
Of synagogue and taught the way.
22 And they were surprised at his teaching,
For he taught them as one outreaching
Authority that the scribes had.

Establishment of faith under Rome’s sway
Did not, for fear of Caesar, hold the way
Of great authority, but rather stood
To argue about the law if they could.
Jesus made his fatal mistake when he
Proclaimed that You gave him authority.
That was enough to raise suspicion where
The scribes were careful always to be ware
Of any threat to Caesar’s kingly share.
Beloved, I trow Your sent one was the true
Interpreter of Your will for Your crew.
But You neglect to take note that each block
Has its own bully. Stop here and take stock.
That’s why we have invented door and lock.

23 And in their synagogue a sad
Man with an unclean spirit cried
Out 24 saying, “Let us alone! Bide!
What have we to do with your side,
Jesus of Nazareth? Have you
Come to destroy us? I know you
Who you are--holy one from God!”
25 Jesus rebuked him on the sod,
Saying, “Be quiet, and come out.”
26 When the unclean spirit with shout
Had torn him and cried with loud voice,
He came out of him without choice.
27 Then they were all amazed at that,
And questioned themselves where they sat,
And said “What thing is this? What new
Doctrine is this heard from the pew?
For with what divine might and power
Commands he even at the hour
The unclean spirits to obey?”
28 And so his fame spread all around
Through all the Galilean ground.

I don’t know what an unclean spirit is.
Perhaps the times have changed with modern biz.
It’s rare now that in company refined,
In pew and under golden cross and blind,
That folk foam at the mouth, fall down and cry.
And those who do are given on the sly
Some medication for eclectic fit,
Which may sometimes serve for a vision’s kit.
Whatever Jesus healed or cast away,
It was something of a more ancient day.
But then as now, most who cry “He is God”
When they meet Jesus walking on the sod
Are speaking through demonic in device,
And Jesus bids them stop the work of mice.

29 As soon as they’d come out from there
They left the synagogue to share
With James and John the Sabbath fare
In Simon and Andrew’s house there.
30 But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick
With a fever or fever’s trick,
And soon they told him of her stick.
31 And he came and took her by hand,
And lifted up, and made her stand,
And straight away the fever left her,
And she served them what food had cleft her.

I think that Jesus is as good a man
As any on the block. I see his plan
To heal a mother-in-law under ban.
Most men avoid the mother-in-law where
They come with friends and food and fun to share
A weekend under sun and weather fair.
The motive may have been that she would serve
The guys, if well, with that much greater verve.
Beloved, I too once had mother-in-law,
Apostle to the Lapps, some said in awe,
Who hit the road when no road through the fells
Was found but that of reindeer without bells.
She sold the books that told of Jesus’ spells
To heal from demons north and south in claw.

32 At evening, when the sun went down,
They brought him all that in that town
Were sick or with devils possessed.
33 And all the city there addressed
To gather themselves at the door.
34 And he healed many, many score
Of their diseases, what is more,
Cast out their devils, but did not
Let them speak, since they knew his plot.

Despite degree of pain and suffering
The folk waited until the end of sting
Of Sabbath day before they brought the ill
To Jesus to see if he filled the bill.
It could have been respect for Jesus’ rest.
It could have been respect for Your law’s vest.
But knowing populace from east to west,
It probably was signal of the fear
Of priests and their police with travelled gear.
Beloved, today there is no one to say
Whether or not I keep the Sabbath day.
For love alone I eagerly await
The coming of the Sabbath and its plate,
And find You better than religious state.

35 He got up in the morning long
Before the daylight began song,
And went out to a lonely place
And sought in prayer the divine face.
36 And Simon and the others there
Followed after him for their share.
37 And when they’d found him, said to him
“They’re all looking for you with vim.”
38 And he said to them, “Let us go
Into the next towns in the row,
That I may preach to them also,
Because that’s why I’m on the go.”

This text in which the Lord keeps Sunday mass
In early morning is one they by-pass
Who wish to show that Sunday is the day
When men should stop their work and come to pray.
I help the lost cause with this contribution:
Jesus at least once in sly elocution
Performed the mass in hidden place alone,
Away from Queen Elisabeth’s dark throne.
Perhaps it was a priest’s hole in the dark
Of a lone castle Catholic to mark
His universal love to humankind,
Even the uncircumcised and the swined.
Beloved, if so, I join the mass to hear
The syllables turn to Your word and ear.

39 And he preached in their synagogues
Throughout all Galilee and frogs
And devils cast out from their clogs.
40 A leper came to him to beg,
And kneeling to him on his leg,
Said to him, “If you will, you can
Make me a clean and healthy man.”
41 And Jesus with compassion moved
Put out his hand and touched and proved
And said to him indeed I will,
Be clean right now and healthy still.”
42 As soon as he had said the word
The leprosy from him was stirred,
He was a clean and healthy bird.
43 He warned him and sent him away.
And told him “Remember to say
Nothing to any man today,
But go show yourself to the priest
And offer for your healing beast
Which Moses made witness at least.”
45 But he went out and told abroad
What Jesus did and to his land
So that he could no longer stride
In open at the city side
But fled into the desert places
Where everyone sought out his traces.

One saving grace marks Jesus at his post,
Despite his darker sayings that leave most
More darkened in their minds than they were when
They had not heard a whisper from his den.
That saving grace is his compassion moved
When met with human suffering in the grooved.
I follow his example in my speech
Ambiguous and with failure to reach
The soul with the clear word that I should preach.
So I participate in Jesus’ wrongs,
Despite the way I sing King David’s songs.
Beloved, may I too follow Jesus’ way,
And be filled with heart and with hand in sway
Of the compassion that taught him its lay.

MARK 2

1 And now again he came into
Capernaum after some days,
And it was told abroad for true
That he’d come to that house to graze.
2 And right away they gathered there,
So many they’d no room to spare,
Not even to come to the door,
And so he preached the word before.

I wonder what word Jesus preached the day
He came into Capernaum to stay.
Mark does not say, perhaps because the word
Was simple and expected and unblurred.
The sermons that have not escaped the fair
Oblivion are such as cause to ponder
What the man could have meant with mind to wander.
The word he preached is left unstated here,
And so I’m justified to see and hear
A repetition of the word You sent
On Sinai for all humankind unbent.
The Decalogue and faith of Jesus are
As far as I can see equivalent.
The three are one along with David’s star.

3 Then they came to him and they brought
One sick of palsy which was got
There carried by four. 4 And when they
Could not come near him for array
Of crowd, they took tiles from the roof
Above him, and without reproof
Made a hole in it, and let down
The bed where lay upon his crown
The man sick of palsy. 5 When saw
Jesus such faith, he said unto
The sick man in the palsy’s claw
“Son, your sins be forgiven you.”
6 But there sat certain of the scribes
Who reasoned in their hearts with bribes.
7 “What blasphemies does this man speak?
Who can forgive sin of the weak
But only God?” 8 And straight away
When Jesus’ spirit caught the lay
Of their thoughts in them, he did say
“Why do you cogitate this way
Within your hearts? 9 “Which thing with ease
Can any say and that will please
The sick with palsy: Your sins are
Forgiven you, or harder far.
Get up and take your bed and walk?
10 “But so you’ll know how to take stock
The son of man has power on earth
To forgive sins of any worth,
He says to the sick palsied man
11 “I tell you, get up, take by plan
Your bed and go back to your home.”
12 And right a way he rose to roam
Took up his bed and then went out
Before them all, so without doubt
All were surprised and glorified
God saying “We have never spied
Such things before, though we have tried.”

The simple words of comfort Jesus spoke
To the man who sought him under the stroke
Of condemnation of those who believed
That sickness was the proof of those deceived
By sin, were twisted by those standing by
To be blasphemous under a blue sky.
Today the folk of church and song repeat
The accusation to heavy rock beat,
And claim that Jesus did claim to be God,
Despite the fact that You alone bear rod
Of sovereignty here in the universe.
Both scribe and Christian are under a curse
For the false witness that they bear of him
Who merely did his best to help the slim.

13 And after that then he went out
Again along the sea-side route
And all the multitude came there
To him and he taught them their share.
14 As he passed by, he saw Levi
Son of Alphaeus sitting by
The custom stand, and said to him
“Follow me,” and he got up trim
And followed him. 15 It came to pass
As Jesus sat to eat his bass
In his house many publicans
And sinners came and sat as fans
With Jesus and his company:
Who followed him there were many.
16 And when the scribes and Pharisees
Saw him eat with publicans, please
Sinners, then they said to the ones
Who followed him, “How is it, sons,
He eats and drinks with publicans
And sinners?” 17 Jesus heard their plans
And told them “People that are well
Do not need the physician’s spell,
But people that are sick; I came
Not to call the righteous in blame
But sinners to repentance’ claim.”
18 The disciples of John along
With Pharisees were very strong
At fasting, and they came to say
To him “Why do John’s folk and those
Of Pharisees fast in their clothes,
But your disciples never fast?”
19 And Jesus said to them at last
“Do the sons of the wedding fast
While the bridegroom’s with them? As long
As they have the bridegroom for song
They cannot fast. 20 But the days come
When the bridegroom is taken from
And then in those times they shall fast.

At least two sons are implicated here,
And if we add the wedding, things are clear,
We have a blessèd Trinity, the three
All of one substance though to sing for free
And one is wedding, not made of the flesh
Nor of bone, but perhaps of the right fresh
Breezes that blow through wedding hall of fame.
That could then be the spirit as it came.
All nature comes in threes and that is proof
That You are also three, or else a spoof.
Ah my Beloved, preserve me and the race
From all blasphemy in this horrid place
Made glorious by the presence of Your face,
Unknown, unseen, unfelt but by Your grace.

21 “No one sews a new piece to last
On an old garment, for the first
New patch that covered up the worst
Draws up and makes the rent but worse.
22 “No one puts new grape juice to curse
Into old wineskins, else the new
Grape juice bursts old wineskins in two,
And all the grape juice is spilled; those
Wineskins are spoiled, new grape juice chose
New wineskins.” 23 And it came to pass
That he went through the cornfields’ grass
Upon the Sabbath day, and his
Disciples started with a whiz
To pick ears of corn as they went.
24 And the Pharisees said when bent
To him “Indeed, why do they do
On Sabbath day unlawful brew?”

If those who came to scold the friends that day
Who picked grain on the Sabbath in the way
To bring their hunger to an end had come
To give their guests a meal of Sabbath hum,
They would not have had any chance to see
Them eating in the roadside fields for free.
It’s just as much a sin to fast as take
An earth to break the fast for Sabbath’s sake.
Beloved, You are not like the living score
Of priestly sages gathered at my door.
They cry me down to die of hunger on
The Sabbath and hardly after the dawn.
But You have given me the grain and nut
Beside the doors of churches that are shut.

25 And he said to them, “Have you not
Read what David did when he sought,
Was hungry, he and those with him?
26 “How he went into God’s house grim
In days of Abiathar high priest
And consumed the show-bread at least
Which is not lawful to devour
Except the priests at the right hour,
And gave also to those with him?”

Abiathar was very unlike priest
In churches round the world today at least.
I’ve not found many worth a meal at all,
With two exceptions on the earthly ball.
Perhaps the fact my own door’s open wide
Each Sabbath day to any who would bide
And eat my bread and drink my wine and hide
Is why I am not qualified to be
A priest or pastor on the Christian spree.
A Lutheran priest in Pittsburgh one day
Took me to eat one Sunday without pay.
A Baptist pastor once gave me a meal
Along with his wife, which was a good deal.

27 And he said to them “Sabbath’s made
For man, and not man to be stayed
For the Sabbath. 28 “Therefore the son
Of man’s lord of the Sabbath done.”

The Sabbath was made for man, I should ask
Why not for women too while husbands bask?
But those who would deprive me of my rest
God-given, non-negotiable, would test
The waters to see if they could demand
The Sabbath for the Jew alone in land,
And for the donkey that’s in Jewish hand.
Jesus perhaps forgot the donkey’s place.
Or then he figured that the human race
And donkeys were so similar to trace
That man was term enough for both that beast
And the wives of the both for the increased.
Beloved, I stubbornly refuse to let
The Sabbath day fall from the things I get.

Jesus claims to be Sabbath’s lord, and I
Wonder what he could mean by that reply.
If he’s a fair messiah chosen well
To apply law to Your people in spell,
Then he would be the lord of nearly all
The statutes that appear in sacred hall.
That would conflict with the state of the state
Under the Roman wages and their fate,
Which were suspicious of authority
Besides that then invested in the see
Of Rome. That’s nothing rightly new to me.
Beloved, let him be lord of what he will
And I will stand obedient on Your hill.

MARK 3

1 And he entered again into
The synagogue, and there in view
Was a man with a withered hand.
2 And they watched him, if he’d command
Him to be healed on Sabbath day
That they might accuse him to stray.
3 And he said to the man who had
The withered hand “Step forward, lad.”
4 And he said to them “Is it lawful
To do good on Sabbath or awful?
To save a life, or else to kill?”
But they held their peace and were still.

Refusal to save life on any day
Is to kill, if it’s true what these words say.
The rationale of argument here taken
Is logical conclusion of things shaken.
It’s easy to argue about details
Of how the Sabbath should be kept in sails,
But Jesus cuts down to the quick to note
That it’s a matter of life in the boat.
Beloved, it’s also matter of life and
Death, when the priests and saviours take the stand
That that one concrete blessing on demand
That gives the right inalienable here
To rest on Sabbath day is out of gear.
Depriving of Sabbath deprives life’s sand.

5 When he’d looked round on them in wrath,
Grieved for hardness of their hearts’ path,
He told the man “Hold out your hand.”
He stretched it out at the command,
And his hand was made well again,
Just like the other. 6 And so then
The Pharisees went out to plan
With Herodians against the man,
To kill him. 7 But Jesus withdrew
With his disciples to the sea,
And a great crowd from Galilee
Followed him, and from Judea,
8 Jerusalem, Idumea,
From beyond Jordan, and about
Tyre and Sidon, a great crowd stout,
When they had heard what things he did,
They came unto him where he hid.
9 And he told his disciples that
A small ship should wait where he sat
Because the people crowded him.
10 For he’d healed many and made trim,
So they pressed near him just to touch,
As many as had plagues and such.
11 And unclean spirits when they saw
Him, fell down before him in awe,
And shouted “You’re the son of God!”
12 And he directly reprimanded
Them not to make him known high-handed.

The expression Nebuchanezzar coined
Is now repeated by demons enjoined
To stop their clatter. But the Christian church
Is founded on demonic sort of smirch,
That Jesus is the Son of God by which
They mean He’s God himself and we can switch
From You to him and back without a hitch,
Without knowing the difference from pitch.
Beloved, I let no man usurp the throne
That rises in my heart and is Your own,
That rises on the universe in arch
Above the desert streams that sometimes parch,
Above reality in all that’s seen.
Beloved, let no prophet come to demean.

13 And he went up into a mountain
And called to him beside a fountain
All those he wished, and they arrived.
14 And he ordained twelve undeprived,
That they should be with him, to send
Them out to preach 15 with power to mend
Sicknesses and to cast out devils.
16 And Simon he brought down some levels
With Peter as a new surname;
17 And James the son of Zebedee,
And John brother of James of fame,
Both whom he surnamed worthily
Boanerges or sons of thunder,

Och! Sons of thunder and light, now do tell!
With what fair and couth woman at what spell
Did thunder lie to beget his sons well?
Or is the thunder mother of the pair?
I doubt she has a womb in underwear.
Absurdity is all men say of You
Who would find You produce a son when due.
Beloved, come down in thunder once again
And speak Your word a message to brave men,
And say once more there is no god in store
For heaven and earth but You, one and no more.
Mythology is easier far to take
Than truth and truth alone for Your dear sake.
Beloved, come once again and plant a stake.

18 And Andrew and Philip, no wonder,
Bartholomew and Matthew too,
Thomas, James son of Alpheus,
And Thaddeus and Simon true
Canaanite, 19 and the last Judas
Iscariot who was the one
Who betrayed him when he was done;
And they entered into a house.
20 And the multitude came to dowse
So they’d no time even to eat.
21 And when his friend heard of the rumour,
They went to restrain his ill humour
Saying “The man has now gone mad.”
22 And the scribes who came down from sad
Jerusalem, said “He has got
Beelzebub, by which prince taught
He casts out devils. 23 He called them
And told parables’ stratagem,
“How can Satan cast out Satan?
24 And if a kingdom is divided
Against itself and not one-sided,
It cannot stand. 25 And if a house
Is set against itself, that house
Cannot stand. 26 And if Satan rise
Against himself, and be divided,
He cannot stand, but is derided.
27 “No one can go into the house
Of a strong man to spoil or grouse
His goods except he will first bind
The strong man in front and behind,
And then he’s free to spoil his house.
28 “Truly I say to you all sins
Shall be forgiven, thrown into bins,
Of human beings and what they
Blaspheme blasphemies on the way,
29 “But who shall blaspheme holy spirit
Shall never be forgiven or near it
But is in danger of damnation
Eternal and always for ration,”
30 Because they said he’s got unclean
Spirit staying upon his scene.

The fact is Jesus was just wrong when he
Thought that a house divided could not see
Existence for time and eternity.
The Roman Catholic church goes on and on
Despite many divisions on the lawn.
Dominicans have sometimes come upon
Franciscans with the weight of horror’s spree.
And wars between two Catholic nations are
Not unknown in the annals of this star.
Beloved, Your sent one comes to the defence
Of himself with all weapons in his tents,
And some are true and some less true in sense,
But all lived up to what they needed to,
Defending him from the low doubting crew.

31 His mother and his brothers came
And stood outside to call his name.
32 The multitude around him sat
And said to him “Indeed whereat,
Your mother and brothers outside
Are looking for where you abide.
33 He answered them and said “Who’s my
Mother or my brothers who cry?”
34 He looked around about at them
Who sat about his diadem,
And said “Look at my mother here,
And all my brothers come to cheer.
35 “For anyone who’ll come to do
The will of God, the same is true
My brother, sister, mother too.”

I’m glad to be the brother of Your Christ,
Since he claims that those who find it sufficed
To keep Your ten commandments are the ones
Who are his relatives after the runs.
I just hope in the illustration here,
In making a point fine and well appear,
He did not neglect honour to his mum,
Which would show disobedience in thumb.
Beloved, the many loyalties of life
In this world of go-get and greater strife
Neglect the ten that make relations best.
Let me not depart from my mother’s nest,
But find the few, so few, who love Your law
Surround me instead of the tooth and claw.

MARK 4

1 And he began again to teach,
Beside the sea he sat to preach,
And there was gathered unto him
A great crowd of the people trim,
And so he entered in a boat
And sat out in the sea to float;
And the whole crowd was by the sea,
Upon the shore and in the lea.
2 By parables he taught them things
And told his teachings to their kings.
3 “Listen and see, there went out one
To sow seed in the field for fun.
4 “It happened as he sowed, some fell
By the wayside, birds of the dell
Came to devour the seeds they smell.
5 “And some fell on the stony ground
Where hardly any soil was found,
And straightway it sprang up, for it
Had no depth of the earth and fit.
6 “But when the sun shone hot, it burned,
Because it had no root and learned,
And so it withered away spurned.
7 “And some fell among thorns, the thorns
Grew up and choked it with their scorns
And it yielded no fruit nor corns.
8 “And other fell on the good ground
And yielded fruit that sprang up sound,
And increased and brought forth at last
Thirty, sixty, or hundred cast.”

The optimism of the parable
Is far beyond my own, and it is full.
The fact is almost all the seeds thrown out
By sower with his shoulder bag and clout
Falls on the good ground. Hardly any goes
Upon the path, among the stones and rows
Of thorns. The word that Jesus spreads abroad
To keep the ten commandments of our God
Is hardly heard by any on the sod,
And fewer still live under easy rod.
Beloved, he erred in thinking that the truth
Would win the hearts of humankind and youth.
Instead the pagan idols blend with him
For solar myths and other sorts of dim.

9 And he told them “Who has an ear
To hear, then indeed let him hear.”
10 And he told them “To you it’s given
To know the mystery to live in
The kingdom of God, but to them
Who are without the kingdom’s gem
All in parables’ stratagem.
12 “That seeing they may see and not
Perceive the very things they’re taught;
And hearing they may hear and not
Understand, lest in time and plot
They should be converted, their sins
Should be forgiven and cast in bins.”

Indeed, the many do not hear the word,
Are left with heart still burning with the stirred
And pliant messages that have occurred
In idols’ wake since serpent rose to speak
Words cunning, plausible and fair and sleek.
Desired by eye, sweet to the taste, and still
Pretending to make wise, the tower and mill
Of old deceit is ever new and bright.
Ears hear but understand not in the night,
And eyes awaken only to delight
In art and treasure and the fond conceit.
Beloved, my heart lies in the burden’s fleet
That I saw from my childhood in the street:
The crowd is certain to surpass the bill.

13 And he said to them “Don’t you know
This parable I’ve come to show?
How then will you understand all
The parables I’ve come to call?
14 “The sower sows the word of God.
15 “And these by the wayside are clod
Where the word is sown, but when they
Have heard, then Satan comes their way,
And takes away the word once sown
In their hearts, but has never grown.
16 “And these are likewise which are sown
On stony ground, who, when they’ve heard
The word, receive with glad hearts stirred,
17 “But have no root, and so remain
A little time upon the plain,
After when affliction comes up
Or persecution is their cup,
For the word’s sake, and straight away
They are offended in the way.
18 “These are like the ones that are sown
Among thorns, such hear the word thrown,
19 “And this world’s cares and riches’ lies
And other lusts before their eyes
Come in and choke the word, and it
Becomes unfruitful and unfit.
20 “These are like those sown on good ground,
Such hear the word, receive it sound,
And bring forth fruit, some thirty-fold,
Sixty, one hundred, dear as gold.”

A fifth kind now arises in my heart,
Not of the hardened way nor stony part,
Nor of the care of thorn or the good ground,
But a fifth way to go and keep the sound.
Your word falls on my heart each day and I
Receive the garden of the shining sky.
No care nor treasure comes to cross my way,
No Satan nor affliction devours pay.
And yet I bear no plant or fruit at all.
Each morning I am nourished in the stall
With new seeds of Your making from my thrall.
The manna I receive stays not a day,
But comes renewed, refreshed, a morning ray.
While others march in progress, here I stay.

21 And he told them “Is candle brought
To be under a bushel sought,
Or under bed, and not be set
On candlestick out of the wet?
22 For nothing’s hid which shall not be
Revealed and manifest freely;
Neither was any secret kept
But it came abroad, in light leaped.
23 If any man have ears to hear
Then let him hear what things appear.”
24 And he told them “Take heed what you
Hear: with what measure you make do,
It shall be measured out to you,
And unto you that hear shall more
Be given when you reach the door.

I hear more than the nun within her room
The round of Psalm and Scripture to my doom.
My measure is beyond the feast’s employ,
Above the hopes, within the crumpled joy.
I hear and with the hearing I become
Responsible to bring forth of the sum,
And share the fruit of visiting the site
Of Your creation’s abundance and light.
Beloved, I bear no more than granite heart,
At most the lichens under foot that start
To make the traveller slip under the load.
I bring no grape or wheat into the road.
But the thin colours of my lichen skin
Reflect the law revealing what is sin.

25 And he said “God’s kingdom is like
As if a man should cast and strike
Seed in the ground, 27 then go to sleep,
And get up night and day to keep,
And the seed sprout and grow, but he
Does not know how nor can agree.
28 For earth brings forth of herself fruit,
First the blade, then the ear to boot,
After that the full corn in ear.
29 But when the fruit comes to appear,
Right off he puts the sickle in
And brings the harvest into bin.”

Indeed I do not know the sprouting seed,
The plant that grows up so much like the weed.
I’ve given up the hope of bearing fruit,
Of climbing to the stars, lifting by boot.
My bin is ready, empty to the full,
The warehouse stands with pride immutable,
And if you bless the field drawn by Your word,
It is a happiness to my heart stirred.
And if you leave me barren in the way,
I still rise to give thanks at break of day.
Your kingdom is Your own, I merely stand,
The doubter in Your field, scarecrow on land
Amazed to see the ear beneath the leaf,
Expecting now and ever some new grief.

30 He said “To what shall we compare
God’s kingdom, or with what thing fair
Shall we liken it? 31 It is like
A grain of mustard seed in spike,
Which when it’s sown upon the earth
Is less than any seed in worth:
32 But when it’s sown, it grows up tall
Greater than all herbs at the wall,
And shoots out great branches so that
Where birds of the air came and sat.”

The mustard seed is not as small as that.
And furthermore, from where I’ve seen and sat,
It never makes a tree, hardly a bush,
Not swell enough for bigger birds to push.
And yet the mustard seed is beyond all
Faith ever met in bin or barn or stall.
The greatest faith there is is not a crumb
Compared to the dark mustard seed in sum.
Beloved, the seed however small or big
Is visible and put down were I dig.
But faith as trust or faithfulness, the two,
Cannot be seen, invisibly they do.
Your sent one jokes comparing faith in size
To seeds or fruit or trees in any guise.

33 With many such parables he
Spoke the word to them faithfully,
As they were able to hear it.
34 But without parable and fit,
He did not speak to them. When they
Were alone he explained the way
To his disciples what to say.

I’m willing to believe the righteous sage
Who opposed Roman army on rampage
With the conservative in ancient view
Of Decalogue and its way to serve You
Under the auspices of one appointed
By You and on the human throne anointed.
I hear his parables and searching their meaning,
But do not accept heart-rending in keening
For Queen of heaven and virgin at the start,
Or resurrected Horus for his part.
Accept or not, Beloved, my simple faith
That You are sovereign and not pagan wraith,
Creator and the giver of Your law,
And not supporter of the tooth and claw.

35 The same day and at evening come
He told them “Let’s go over from
Here to the other side. 36 And when
They’d sent away the crowd of men,
They took him even as he was
Into the ship away from claws,
And there were also with him there
Other little ships and to spare.
37 There arose a great storm of wind
And the waves beat the ship unfinned,
Water poured in so it was full.
38 And he was in the capable
Stern of the vessel fast asleep
Upon a pillow, not a peep,
They woke him up and told him there
“Master, we perish, don’t you care?”
39 He got up and rebuked the wind
And said unto the sea unpinned
“In peace, be still!” and the wind ceased
And there was a great calm increased.
40 And he said to them “Why the scare?
Have you no faith found anywhere?”
41 And they were greatly frightened and
Said to each other all the band
“What kind of man is this that wind
And even the sea have been binned,
Obedient to his word and hand?”

The Bektashi pir who merely sat still
Through storm while all the others in the mill
Hysterically cried for salvation’s hill
While Golden Horn raged round them to the fill,
Just kept to Jesus’ own example then.
So is it with all great and righteous men.
The answer to the question, don’t you know
That only the thickness of the ship’s row
Stands between you and death? is still to throw
Awareness that on land not even that
Divides me from the death of those who sat
In judgement of Your law. My sleep is sound,
Too sound indeed for the dangers around,
Of democratic demonizing found
In every place on this unholy ground.

MARK 5

1 And they came to the other side
Of the sea, to the countryside
Of Gadarenes. When he had come
Out of the ship, then straight away
There came out of the tombs a chum
To meet him who was under sway
Of an unclean spirit 3 who had
A place to live among the tombs,
And no one could secure the lad
Not even with chains in their rooms;
4 Because he had been often bound
With cuffs and chains and even sound
Chains had been pulled apart by him
And the cuffs shattered by that grim
Spectre in human form, so none
Could tame the man when all was done.
5 And always day and night he dwelt
Crying in mountain tombs unfelt,
Cutting himself with stones. 6 But when
He saw Jesus afar off, then
He ran and fell down in prostration.
7 He shouted in a loud elation
And saying “What have I to do,
With you, Jesus, son of most high
God? So by God I adjure you,
Not to torment me.” 8 For reply
He told him “Come out of the man,
You unclean spirit under ban.”

No man says that Jesus came in the flesh
But by the spirit of God sent down fresh.
No man says that Jesus is son of God,
The second person in the triune pod,
God out of God, light out of light unshod,
Except by unclean spirit in the mesh.
The heathen faith has crept through Christian crowd
On centuries of Roman reign allowed,
And now defines what’s Christian and what’s not:
The pagan is the defined in the plot.
Beloved, I take no pagan faith for mine,
But stick to You and what You set on tine
Of Decalogue. Here Jesus now refuses
Acknowledgement from the tongue that abuses.

9 And he asked him “What is your name?”
And he answered “Legion’s my name,
Because we are many of fame.”
10 And he begged hard not to be sent
Out of the country when he went.
11 There was near the mountains a great
Herd of pigs eating there of late.
12 And all the devils begged him “Send
Us into the pigs there to mend.”
13 Right away Jesus gave permission
The unclean spirits on condition
Went out and entered in the swine.
And the herd ran down the incline
With violence into the sea,
About two thousand porcinely,
And all were drowned upon the sea.

This story shows that Jesus is not God,
For if he had known that the demon rod
Would drive the herd of pigs into the sea,
He would have had compassion on the wee
Creatures of His own making on the sod.
He would not let the devils take the life
Of piglet with the mother under knife.
If Jesus had been God, he would have kept
The herd of swine safe where they fed and slept.
My logic is as strong as any given
By atheist who will not admit living
Of any God at all, because if He
Existed, universe would surely be
Of all evils and wickednesses free.

14 The feeders of the pigs all fled
Into the city where they said
What happened, in the country too
They spread the news to not a few.
And they went out to see the sight.
15 They come to Jesus and see him
Who was possessed of devil grim,
And had the legion, sitting clad,
And in his right mind, then they had
A stroke of fear. 16 And those who saw
It told them what happened with awe,
Of the devil-possessed man and
About all the pigs in the land.
17 And they began to beg him to
Leave them and their region to stew.

The superstitions of good men in days
Past leaves them open to sentence of craze.
If Jesus had rebuked the demon-filled
Today near where the swine had come and swilled,
And demons had then driven from the host
Of pigs the rhyme and reason of their boast,
No one would give credence at all or say
That Jesus had done anything that day.
The string of miracles could not be laid
To Jesus in blame or in praises paid.
It takes more faith than I’ve got to believe
In demons or in rushing herds’ reprieve,
And so today Jesus could work him sore
And we’d just laugh at his claims to the gore.

18 And when he’d come into the ship,
He who had been possessed with rip,
Begged him to be allowed to go.
19 But Jesus would not let him go,
But told him, “Go home to your friends,
And tell them of the great godsends
The Lord has bestowed upon you
And His compassion in your lieu.
20 And he departed and began
To spread abroad to every man
In Decapolis what great things
Jesus had done to heal his wings,
And everyone was sure surprised.

Jesus told the man to give praise to You
For healing after all the scrap and stew.
In other words Jesus did not lay claim
To the divine in word or act or name,
But recognized that You alone are God,
And no man, even sinless, on the sod.
But what did the man straightway go and do?
He praised the man Jesus with cry and hue.
The same mistake fills every church I find.
They will not look to You, they are so blind,
But like dogs chasing the finger that’s raised
To point, they call Jesus God as half-crazed.
No matter what invention and what act
I see, I recognize only Your pact.

21 When Jesus had again devised
To find by ship the other side,
A great crowd gathered at his side,
And he was standing near the sea.
22 And, behold, there came sorrowfully
A ruler of the synagogue,
Jairus by name when not incog,
And seeing him, fell at his feet
In prostration, in awe discrete.
23 And begged him earnestly and said
“My little daughter’s almost dead,
I beg you come and lay your hands
On her, and she at your commands
May be healed so she’ll live, not die.”

Note well, Beloved, the ruler of the church
Is ready to get help from You in lurch.
But wait until the health and wealth and song
Are shining on him instead of the wrong.
Then he will turn about to find his pride
Alone is worth the time of day and ride.
I too come round to You both day and night,
And hardly find a sign of You in sight.
But when You answer prayers of fear and might
For saving from death’s door, I find You right.
Forgive, Beloved, the days of work and stress,
Forgetful hours, when come to Your address,
I fail to find in You alone the mess
Of pottage that I seek beyond caress.

24 And Jesus went with him, and by
Him followed a great crowd close by.
25 A certain woman from whom flowed
A constant loss of blood bestowed
For twelve long years, and suffered much
At many of physicians’ touch,
And had spent everything she had,
And not improved, at least as bad,
27 When she had heard of Jesus, came
Among the crowd behind his fame,
And touched his clothing, 28 For she said
“If I may only touch his dread
Clothes, I shall be made whole and well.”
29 And right away her flowing blood
Was dried up from its gushing flood,
And she felt in her body that
She was healed of that plague that sat.

Your saints are everywhere set out to be
The source of cure and hopes for the unfree,
And even tombs are windows on the share
Of blessing that You would spread everywhere.
The superstitious crow receives reward,
And that affirms the superstition’s sword.
I too have sought to touch the sacred hem
Of saint, and bowed beneath the glow of gem
On shrine that covers tombs silent and still.
I too have found my healing in the bill.
Beloved, such things encourage heart and will
To turn to crusts and not coming to fill
The life with leaning on Your sacred heart.
Heal yes, but keep me from believer’s part.

30 And Jesus right away aware
That virtue had gone out to spare,
Turned around in the crowd and said
“Who touched my clothing and in dread?”
31 And his disciples said to him
“Do you see the crowd to the rim
And yet ask ‘Who touched me?’” 32 And he
Was looking all around to see
The one that had performed the thing.
33 The woman in fear and trembling
Knowing what was done in her, came
And fell down before him for blame
And told him all the truth by name.
34 And he said to her “Daughter mine,
Your faith has made you well and fine.
Just go in peace and in good health
Free of that awful plague of stealth.”

I praise Your sent one that he turns away
The superstitious way that people pray.
He does not think the virtue that went out
Of him is his own virtue on the snout.
He knows that You alone, Beloved, are there
With hand of hope and heart of loving care.
No saint and no messiah gives the gold
Of new life to the shepherdless in fold.
All comes from faith in You, no matter which
Tomb or which guru faces the full pitch.
Beloved, let me give praise where praise is due,
For every gift thanks only given to You,
For every breath of life my grateful voice
Again lifts up to You and to rejoice.

35 While he was speaking some arrived
From the house of the man deprived,
The ruler of the synagogue
Who said “Your daughter’s latest prog
Is that she’s dead, so therefore why
Bother the master with your cry?”
36 As soon as Jesus heard the thing
That was spoken for sorrowing,
He said to the synagogue head
“Be not afraid, believe instead.”

I’d think the rumours would have given folk
An inkling that even the dead in stroke
Might be raised by Elijah come again
Like ancient prophets working for all men.
But no, they told the ruler not to keep
The master on the useless way, but weep.
Though weeping is a valid way to spend
Expression of my faith in You and bend
To grief, such weeping on the way to mend
Would have been lack of faith in those You send.
Beloved, may I be ready to abide
In trust that You are still by every side
Of those who worship You by Your law sent,
Even when death seems to be what was meant.

37 And he let no one come along
But Peter and James and the strong
Brother of James by name of John.
38 He came to the house walking on
Where lived the chief of synagogue
And saw the rush and how they wept
And how greatly wailed the adept.
39 And when he came in he told them
“What’s this weeping for stratagem?
The girl is not dead, but has slept.”
40 And they laughed him to scorn. But when
He had put all of them out, then
He took the girl’s father along
With the mother to hear his song,
And those with him and went in where
The girl had been laid out with care.
41 And he took the girl by the hand
And said “Talitha cumi,” stand,
Which is interpreted in Greek,
“Young lady, stand up, don’t be meek.”
42 And right away the girl arose
And walked about on feet and toes,
For she was aged about twelve years,
And they were astonished from tears
With great astonishment, my dears.
43 He gave them strong orders that no
Man should know of the deed and show
And ordered that something to eat
Should be given her for a treat.

The crowd was amazed that the girl once dead
Got up alive after lying in bed.
Your power is truly amazing, but I
Am so accustomed to it where I lie
That I pass through the resurrection met
With each breath of my own and fail to get
Amazements rush of gratitude in vain.
Instead I focus on pleasures and pain,
Ephemeral glances of light and rain,
While the great miracle of life abounds
Minute by minute on my clay-grown grounds.
Your sent one dignifies my failure to
Shout Your praises in everything I do
By warning me to silence at the view.


AUTHOR: THOMAS G. MCELWAIN

Copyright © 2007 Adams & McElwain Publishers and Thomas McElwain First Published in two volumes, The Beloved and I 2005, and Led of the Beloved, 2006. Second Edition, 2010 Third and revised edition, 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this verse commentary on the sacred Scriptures may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from publisher.

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