Born in a Barn: The Outlaw

Born in a Barn

He was born in a barn,
He has no manners,

He allows disreputable women to touch him inappropriately,
He tells those in religious authority where to get off,
He is known as a drunk, because he is always hanging out at parties,
He rouses the rabble, and the government quakes,
He spits, and rubs mud in people's faces,
He disrupts public ceremonies,
He perpetrates armed assault on bankers,
He flaunts the rules,
He appeared naked in public,
He dies in disgrace,
He opened a door and he refuses flatly to close it,
He was born in a barn and he has got no manners,

 

Yes,
Christ the saviour has come. 

Reflection: A Different Kind of Hero

I remember hearing the the term 'anti-hero' for the first time on a long 3 day hike with my Dad, and some of his friends. We were walking part of the Offa's Dyke path, which follows the spine of the old border between Wales and England. The terrain was hilly and had patches of woodland. It put me in mind of Robin Hood, for some reason. I was probably about 16 at the time. 

I had just gotten into Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns. I'd always enjoyed a Western as a kid, but I suppose I'd never been exposed to the grittier and more violent types. It was more John Ford than Sergio Leone.

I came to this 'dollars trilogy' with fresh eyes and no knowledge and I'd never really witnessed anything of the like of it. Back on Offa's Dyke I was relaying to my father and our family friend 'uncle' Eddie, how much I was looking forward to watching 'A Fistful of Dollars', which I had recently taped off the telly. I was, unsuccessfully trying to articulate the appeal of 'The Man with No Name'. It was then that  Dad said, 'well I think it's because he's an anti-hero', and there began a long discussion about the merits of morality in role-models. Now this conversation took place a long time ago (so my memory is a little unreliable), but I believe comparisons were drawn between Jesus and 'The Man With No Name'.  My Father citing lyrics from one of the pioneers of Christian rock music, Larry Norman, who had a song about Jesus that was entitled; The Outlaw. The opening verse goes like this;

Some say he was an outlaw that he roamed across the land

With a band of unschooled ruffians and few old fishermen

No one knew just where he came from or exactly what he'd done

But they said it must be something bad that kept him on the run

In subsequent verses Larry Norman explores the enigma of Jesus, typifying the kind of speculation that must have evolved around him and his ministry, rumours and speculation. Is he a Poet? Is he a sorcerer?  Is he a politician? His conclusion is that he is The Son of God, because, Norman asserts, 'That's who I believe'.

But the song captured something of the enigmatic appeal of Christ. He is so authentic and yet unorthodox (If I can use that word in a way that is not theologically charged). Almost a 'law unto himself'. It is almost only in that he is The law, that we can really understand his actions and teachings. And I suppose all of my hero's were always those who operated outside the law. My first hero was Robin Hood, who I alluded to earlier. He didn't play by the rules but he had right on his side.

I would not go so far as to call Jesus an 'anti-hero', but he didn't 'play by the rules'. He marched to his own drum. He did not spare the Pharisee's their blushes. He did not restrain himself at the moneychangers exploiting the poor in their worship at the temple. He did not stay away from those who would damage his reputation.

And when we look at his radical interpretation of the law, in his teachings in the sermon on the mount, we understand that his righteousness is not lesser than the law but greater. Greater than the righteousness of the Pharisees. It is greater and deeper and truer.

No man spoke like this man.

And, from the manner of his birth, (in a 'barn'. we ought to have got the clue. This is a hero like no other.

~Scripture~

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

~Matt 5:17-20~

“Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 

in the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” 

Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

~Mark 2:25-28~

Delivery Suite

Delivery Suite

 

The room is all set:

The forceps of foresight
The Hot water of Baptism
The towels of servanthood
The gas and air of joy in obedience,
Are all ready to go,

The Father is stood by, waiting to cut the chord,

The Angels draw the curtains of certainty
Around the Holy family
As the registrar of births'
Waiting in the wings
What transpires, mystery
His story will only record

That the deliverer
Has been delivered

Save the chosen few,
No one heard the screams
No one saw the blood
No one held their breath
In anticipation of the shrill, almost angry
Defiant yell of existence
And the relief, it bought with it,

The silent night
Was split,
Christ, the saviour, is born,

The deliverer has been delivered.

Reflection: Deliverance

I remember well the birth of my first son, Ethan. The second time around, it was not quite such a shock, but the first time you go into it, your learning curve is rapidly accelerating and on overdrive. I'd heard terms for instruments such as 'forceps' before, but not seen them with my eyes' I don't think, and certainly not seen them in use! 

And in this strange new world of medical terminology opening up before me, I, as a poet, was rather intrigued by the use of the term for the place where the birth would take place: The Delivery Suite. A place where all the needs of any delivery can be met, from the straight forward to the complicated.

As I wrote this, I imagined not the stable, but a heavenly delivery suite, where there was a sort of parallel spiritual birth taking place. The holy Family being the Trinity. The Registrar of Births being the angel who keeps records in the Lamb's book of life. The Angels almost as midwives around the miraculous event.

And this delivery is not really the work of one night, but of Jesus lifetime on earth. So we can include the water of his baptism and the towels of his servanthood as elements in such a spiritual delivery. That Christ coming to the point of his sacrificial death and his resurrection was the delivery of this deliverer.

I liked the play on the word deliverance/delivery. The dictionary has deliverance as The act of  being rescued or set free and it has deliverer as Someone who rescues, saves or sets something (or someone) free.

And as the baby, Jesus, was delivered from  the body of Mary, and all the danger that potentially bought with it, so Jesus has delivered us from the the body of sin and death.

~Scripture~

and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

~Romans 11:26~

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

~Matthew 1:21~

Leaning

Guest Room Of The Heart

Not the squalor of a borrowed stable
But with joyful welcome in the human heart,
I will welcome him with all I'm able,
Though my gifts could barely make a start,

To pay my homage to the King of Heaven,
Not with Frankincense, myrrh or Gold,
But with the simplicity that I am able,
Take this baby to my heart, to hold,

Though you cannot be contained by heaven,
It is in us that you come to dwell,
Never ever will you leave, forsake us,
God with us, our Immanuel,

With all the clutter and the mess at Christmas,
We remember the child in Mary's womb,
Remember that the 'King that came', is coming,
Let every heart prepare him room.

Reflection: Leaning

I was inspired to write this one by Stuart Townend's modern hymn:  From The Squalor of a Borrowed Stable. From it I borrowed a little more than inspiration. I will happily accept the charge that this poem is highly derivative. I also borrowed, as well as most of the first line,  the meter and ABAB rhyme structure. But it was a good place to start. If you try you could sing my verses over parts of the tune too.

The basic premise is very simple. It is to allow the nativity to be a story to which we respond personally. It is our heart, rather than the preoccupied Bethlehem, or the humble stable that now should welcome him. It is to give him the gift of yourself (In The Bleak Mid-winter) rather than the gifts of the magi.

If I remember rightly I wrote this under some pressure, hving written so much on the subject already, and I think I had a deadline to meet, as it was for a carol service. This resonates with me today, as,  while I write this, I have a poem to write for this years carol service too.

What I did was to lean on the tropes of other writers. There is creativity involved. I made my own rhymes. I joined the dots. 

But I suppose looking at this now, I see that sometimes it is okay to be carried by another's words. To find solace in time held truths. Even if they have become cliche's. I will be the first to admit they do not always make the best art, but we are a body. A family. And we sustain and support each other. 

Maybe then this can be an example of how we can lean into each other when we need to, rather than an example of great poetry.

If you're tired, or dry or spent, then lean in to the timeless truths in scripture an din the 'old songs'. Let them do the work, and pray for them to be a means of God's grace to you.

~Scripture~

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

~Matthew 11:28-30~

Surrounded by Saints

 Immanuel

 

You're lonely, deep down,
So lonely, but none can tell,
Surrounded by Saints
Yet you feel like hell,
And the solution is, Well,
Well, well, well,
It's God with us;
It's Immanuel.

Cant get through this pain
Cant face this painful hour,
Cant take another minute,
It isn't in your power,
The solution is, Well,
Well, well, well,
It's God with us,
It's Immanuel,

No one understands
What you are going through
No one knows your estrangement,
No one feels like you do
But someone does, well,
Let me tell,
Tell,
Tell.
It's Jesus;
Our Immanuel.

Priceless presence with us,
This pearl within our shell,
The precious peace in whirlwind's eye,
It's too valuable to tell,
It's free to me, I cannot buy or sell,
Sell,
Sell,
It is God with me
Revealed to me,
My Immanuel

Reflection: Surrounded by Saints

To be lonely in a crowd is perhaps the worst kind of loneliness, compounded by all the poeple around you and yet somehow you feel disconnected. Everyone else is happy, it seems, just getting on with their lives, and you are cut adrift.

Add to this, if your crowd is a church, that these are believers who should love you. We are family, after all. Brothers and sisters. Christians can be salt. Unfortunately sometimes that can feel like salt in the wound.

This 'alone in a crowd' feeling inspired the lines:

Surrounded by Saints

Yet you feel like hell

And then include in the mix 'Christmas time', and it can bring you to toxic levels of despair.

I don't want to labour this point. My own experience with this is that often, my sense of rejection is self feeding. My behaviour is responding to a rejection that I am projecting onto others, and sometimes that causes me to spikey or hostile, which causes some genuine rejection, which in line with that confirms my bias and compounds my sense of loneliness. 

The good news is that this cycle is easily broken with the right mindset. As soon as you project warmth and start looking out for others, instead of focussing in your own need, you often find a warm reception because, guess what? We're all looking for love. 

The bad news is, it requires a change of mindset, and sometimes you are so deep in that funk you can hardly get your head up.

And that is where Jesus comes in.

Some of these poems were written in that same period of my life, some a few years apart, but this message of Immanuel seems to bridge them all.

Jesus is God with us. You are not alone. 

Ask for the strength to call on his name. Ask for the love for others.

I remember well, and have written before about a time where I was struggling with connections at Church. I would sit in a corner looking sour faced and deliberately not speak to people. I am just going to see, I would say to myself, how long it takes for someone to speak to me. And in the meantime I would watch others milling around. Many of them clearly looking a little lost and (possibly) for someone to speak to.

And then God opened my eyes. I was ignoring them. The very thing I wanted, I was denying others.

A quick bit of repentance saw an end to that.

Occasionally I slip back into the old mindset, but that lesson has set me in good stead for all kinds of social situations. And when I am fragile and don't engage, I can remember that this is a choice I am making. It can be changed.

~Scripture~

God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

~Psalm 68:6~

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen:

To loose the bonds of wickedness,

To undo the heavy burdens,

To let the oppressed go free,

And that you break every yoke?

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Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;

When you see the naked, that you cover him,

And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

~Isaiah 58:6-7~

Taken

 

1.     Taken (Where You Do Not Want To Go)

 

Oh, Baby Jesus,
How strange that sounds,
Like 'new-born-ancient'
Like 'Finite-infinity'
Like 'Temporal-eternal'
Oh Baby Jesus,
Look at you now,
God and yet unconscious of it,

You smile up at me
From that manger,
Your tiny little fingers
Would explore my mouth
And stretch my eyelids,
Were it not for that swaddling,

Oh Baby Jesus,
Those hands will be bound again
But first they will be freed,
They will explore, and fumble and take
They will give and mend and break,
As you slowly become
The man God made you to be,

Oh Baby Jesus,
Whose words formed stars
look at you now,
You can't even form words,
You can't even say 'ah',
Just 'buh, buh'
And raspberry's
And squeals
You don't even know the deal yet,

Oh Baby Jesus
Tightly wrapped in clothes another chose
But you will learn to dress yourself
And follow the calling
Wherever it goes
Though for now
You must stay where you're put,

When you were 'younger'
You went where you wanted,
And if it wasn't there
You made there,

When you were younger
You clothed yourself in light
And righteousness made a pretty cool coat,

But, Oh, Baby Jesus,
Look at you now,
Tucked in
Wrapped up
And dribbling
Blowing spit bubbles,

When you're older you will dress yourself
And go where you please

And then, when you are a little older still
You will stretch out your hands
And you will be pinned down again

And then, when you are a few days older than that,
You will stretch them out again,
To family and friends

To one who cant believe
and to another
Who cant forgive himself

And you will say

"When you were younger you dressed yourself
And went where you wanted;
But when you are old you will stretch out your hands,
And someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”

And, Oh Baby Jesus, you will know
Exactly what you are talking about,
Because you laid down your life
Long before
You ever took it up.

And looking at your tiny unsuspecting face
Baby Jesus
Though it knows me not, yet
I can see….. the greatest love.

Reflection: Swaddled

I see al kinds of prophetic echoes of the cross, here in the nativity. When I wrote this poem I had never expected to see something so powerful in the swaddled infant Christ. And then His words to Peter came to me, when you are old....

It quite blew me away. And, though as a baby, he was completely at the mercy of his parents, who swaddled him lovingly. He had surrendered to this, and he would surrender again, at the cross. And all that he prophesied over Peter had happened also to himself. He was dressed with a purple robe and a crown of thorns. He was taken where he would not go (To the Cross).

And all of this was just a seed germinating within the life of Jesus from the moment he was conceived.

And of course, being swaddled took away his freedom. But unlike any other baby in history, he had surrendered himself to this.

We feel swaddled buy our circumstances, at times, unable to respond as we want to. Sometimes through no choice of our own, sometimes through bad choices that lead us there, but none-the-less, restrained.

Firstly I want to say to you, there is a freedom coming. Jesus outgrew is swaddling and knew freedom. Secondly, even that later restriction, that come through nails and wood, gave way to glorious resurrection life. With God, all things are possible and his way is life. He will not abandon you.

Secondly, within the swaddled situation, practice patience and trust in that same God. If your surrender to him (note to him, not the situation) within it is true, if you embrace his will, even if it is this trial (for a while) and trust his good purposes within it, it will lighten the burden. And yes, his burden is light. The one foisted upon you by any other is not. But his burden is light and his yoke is easy.

~Scripture~

And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

~Luke 2:12~

Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

~John 21:18-19~

Christmas Echoes

 Christmas Echoes (Repeat The Sounding Joy)

 

The song from all creation
Of mysteries for words; too deep,
Sung from every voice of nature
Summoning Adam from his sleep,

The song from birthless eternity
The splendours of his joy
Were hid from mankind, from then, till now,
Until the arrival of this boy,

Held from our ears, until we sing it,
Until at last we see this Christmas boy
The song that has been always waiting
For loosened tongues to employ,

The Angels singing with exaltation
Glory to the Lord on high
They cannot contain their joy this moment
As we listen, our very ancient essence sighs

Sighs to sing the song of ancients
The source of life, within this boy,
Can you feel the tug of heaven,
To repeat the sounding joy?

We simply open our unstopped mouths
Our hearts with wild and wide-eyed abandon, gaze,
And out spill all our adorations
To the secret spirit's longing,
Hidden yearning, throughout all our days,

Listen closely, can you hear the melody,
From celestial beings rise
A pitch beyond natural hearing,
But if you're still and close your eyes,

You can hear it

The song resounds in supernova
The vibrations from atom's mysterious chant
All creation somehow declares it
And yet, at times, somehow we can't,

But the wonders on display at Christmas
Wrapped up, exposed, in baby boy,
Calls to us with the choir of Angels
To repeat
The sounding Joy,

All life should be a tuning in
To natures song, to Angels ploy
To get us in the heavenly choir,
each day to repeat
The sounding joy.

And repeat
The sounding joy

And repeat
The sounding Joy

The echoes of
Resounding joy

Reflection: Thin Places and Full Choirs

The ancient Celtic Christians believed in thin places. This referred to when the Spiritual atmosphere of a location made it easy to connect with God, almost as though there is no barrier between heaven and earth. We might refer to such a place as a Spiritual portal, or an ancient well. This idea seems to incorporate geographic locations. A very recent example could be the Revival at Asbury Seminary which has seen multiple revivals break out (However we define revival, I'm not sure). I am sure however that wherever the Spirit breaks out, we could deem that as a thin place.

This concept was not yet on my radar when, as an 18 year old recently 'returned to the fold', the Baptist church building that our fellowship shared (oddly enough with the local Baptist church) one Sunday morning was filled with the sounds of angels harmonising with our singing. I thought I had been imagining it, or that it was a spiritual gift in the form of some personal revelation, but on talking to others later I discovered that many people had become aware of it. The worship had been particularly rapturous that morning, and it felt to me like we'd been transported to heaven, or heaven to us!

It's strange that this poem should have been the one lined up for today, because last night my Father was relaying his experiences at a carol service this weekend where a similar thing occurred.

This poem was written around the concept that there is an eternal song of praise to God, an angelic song, and we have been invited to 'join with the angels' in singing it.  In my experience as a teen, the angels seemed to join with us, but here, we are joining with them in singing the eternal song. I am informed that noise doesn't stop but the vibrations just keep moving on forever. There is a praise that goes on forever about us, with or without us. Remember in that moment when Jesus was told to silence the crowds as they cried "Hosanna". He told those detractors, 'I tell you, if they were silent, even the rocks would cry out'.

Whenever we cry out in praise, we are joining the eternal song. Worshiping at the eternal throne. And if it's a broken hallelujah, or a victorious and jubilant shout, you are not alone. The Company of heaven is with you.

~Scripture~

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits[a] of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll

    and to open its seals,

because you were slain,

    and with your blood you purchased for God

    persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.

 

You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,

    and they will reign[b] on the earth.”

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,

    to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength

    and honor and glory and praise!”

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb

    be praise and honor and glory and power,

                                                            for ever and ever!”

The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

~Revelation 5:6-14~

Peace On Earth

Peace On Earth

 

When peace shall finally be spoken
When bones shall no longer be broken
Split asunder with shell
Flesh forced apart by semtex and shrapnel
When factions shall finally cease
And prisoners of conscience, see release
When hearts will cease to wage
War with God on every page
Of the book of human life,
When there is an end to strife,

When The last tear has been shed
When the last drop of blood has been bled,
When sword is forged into ploughshare
And spears into pruning hooks there,
And the dark, dark art of war
Will be studied never more,

When there is no more death or dying
And no more sorrows sighing,
For sorrow and sighing will have flown away
When the old order has passed, on that great day,

When Bethlehem's baby is returned as king
And the whisper of peace that he brings
Will be heard and felt by all
As loud as a mighty waterfall,

Then and then only will the peace fully come
That was spoken of, when the angels sung
Of goodwill and peace on the earth
At the advent of saviour’s birth,
An echo of what is to come
This peace
Complete
This whole shalom.

Reflection: The Now and the Not Yet

His name shall be called....the prince of peace? From Isaiah's perspective the Messianic figure of his visions was to bring about his rule and put an end to war. Isaiah 9 says every soldiers boot used in battle and every blood-soaked robe will be destined for burning. And, as referenced in the poem, in Isaiah 2 he speaks of swords being turned into ploughshares and spears into pruning hooks.

But this peace on earth was not to come at his first coming. In fact, his arrival was marked with bloodshed, the slaughter of the innocents, as Herod tried to wipe out all competition to his line. And many wars themselves have been started (falsely, I believe) in his name.

But the reign of the Messiah is not yet in full effect. It is now (He has come) but it is also not yet (He will come again). We live in the in-between. My pastor likes to use the illustration of the time lapse during the second world war, between the D-Day landings (The outcome is determined) to VE day (the outcome is realised). 

But take heart. Where ever his reign is truly in effect, he is the prince of peace. He brings peace, and good will to all. The influence of his peace is felt across the world. But there is this reminder that it is only on that first day of the rest of eternity we will se our hearts desire. And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

And for now, may I remind you of his words: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.

~Scripture~

For to us a child is born,

    to us a son is given,

    and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 

Of the greatness of his government and peace

    there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne

    and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

    with justice and righteousness

    from that time on and forever.

~Isaiah 9:6-7~