This Blog reflects on the octave running from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday

For this occasion, I have written a Holy Week Acrostic poem to help guide my reflection.

Holy Week Acrostic Poem (Roger Verrall – April 2022)

Hope lies deep within the heart
Offering; to give all, not just in part
Love is a gift we give and receive
Yearn for justice and peace - but not deceive
Well-being and grace for all humankind
Emancipation of heart, soul, and mind
Eternity our ultimate destination
Kingship of Christ brings realisation.

I have used the opening word of each line of this acrostic poem to guide my thoughts and each line represent a day in Holy Week pattern. For each, I have selected some, hopefully, appropriate lines of poetry.

So, we start with the hope of Palm Sunday through the realisation of Christ the King through the Victory on the Cross on Easter Sunday. In between we explore some of the attributes, aspirations, and challenges of being a Christian. Eight days that changed the world!

This is a long Blog but can be used daily over the eight days rather than at one session. In fact, by using it over eight days it will time for personal reflection.

Palm Sunday - Hope lies deep within the heart

Hope conveys a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen. On Palm Sunday Jesus entered Jerusalem and there was an image of exuberance and excitement and hope from those who were there. This event carried with it a sense of liberation. The liberation which the entry into Jerusalem suggests was really based on the expectation of a subjugated people but of a people who did not understand what true liberation meant, but perhaps the real liberation for us as Christians did not come until the resurrection of Jesus his victory on the cross.

I have chosen two poems, one which considers Jesus’s ride into Jerusalem, and the second a reflection on hope, where the author has used light touch metaphors. Included also are words from the poetry of the Bible – from Psalm 71.

What Have We Learned? (Loyd C Taylor Sr.)

They shouted with praises, reaching the sky,
Pushing and shoving to see Jesus pass by.
Crying, 'Hosanna, hosanna, glory to the King!
He comes to us today, great joy He doth bring.'

They threw down palm leaves, covering the way,
Clearing the way for His entrance that day.
Raising joyful voices, as praises filled the air,
The day had come, God answered their prayer!

But, in a short time they changed their chant,
From joyful noise, to a mob's hate-filled rant.
From Hosanna, hosanna, as when He was praised;
To crucify Him! Crucify Him, as their anger blazed!

In disbelief we might question why they turned?
But maybe the question is, 'What have we learned? ' 

“Hope” is the thing with feathers (Emily Dickenson)

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -

 I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.

Psalm 71.5-6,14

For you, O Lord, are my hope,
  my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
Upon you I have leaned from my birth;
  it was you who took me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of you.
But I will hope continually,
  and will praise you yet more and more.

Monday in Holy Week Offering; to give all, not just in part

An offering is something given as a gift or contribution. Offerings may be tangible such as money or they may be giving of our time or talent free of charge.

The Offering (By E Nesbit)

What will you give me for this heart of mine,
No heart of gold, and yet my dearest treasure?
It has its graces, it can ache and pine,

And beat true time to your sweet voice's measure;
It bears your name, it lives but for your pleasure:
What will you give me for this heart I bring,
That holds my life, my joy, my everything?

How can I ask a price, when all my prayer
Is that, without return, you will but take it,
Feed it with hope, or starve it to despair,

Keep it to play with, mock it, crush it, break it,
And, if your will lies there, at last forsake it?
Its epitaph shall voice its deathless pride:
'She held me in her hands until I died.'

And the words of a Hymn which was a poem written by Isaac Watts

When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands,
His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Tuesday in Holy Week - Love is a gift we give and receive

Four unique forms of love are found in Scripture. They are communicated through four Greek words (Eros, Storge, Philia, and Agape) and are characterized by romantic love, family love, brotherly love, and God's divine love for mankind. 

There is much poetic language and expression about love, which is used in the Bible:

“I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Just as I have loved you,
you also should love one another”
John 13.34

“Love is patient; love is kind;
love is not envious or boastful
or arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way;
it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice in wrongdoing,
but rejoices in the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. “
1 Corinthians 13.4-8

One poem that always springs to mind is the wonderful poem by George Herbert. This is indeed an invitation to us all to respond to God’s love and enjoy it.

Love (George Herbert)

LOVE bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back,
    Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
    From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
    If I lack’d anything.

‘A guest,’ I answer’d, ‘worthy to be here:’
    Love said, ‘You shall be he.’
‘I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,
    I cannot look on Thee.’
Love took my hand and smiling did reply,
    ‘Who made the eyes but I?’

‘Truth, Lord; but I have marr’d them: let my shame
    Go where it doth deserve.’
‘And know you not,’ says Love, ‘Who bore the blame?’
    ‘My dear, then I will serve.’
‘You must sit down,’ says Love, ‘and taste my meat.’
    So I did sit and eat.

Wednesday in Holy Week Yearn for justice and peace - but not deceive

Yearning for justice and pace seems to be a real imperative at the present and this poem by Francis Duggan puts expression to that.

It's a troubled World we live in the World of today (Francis Duggan)

It's a troubled World we live in the World of today
But love with peace and justice only decades away
In fifty years or less from now there won't be mistrust and hate
The war lords and the men of war will have passed their use by date.

Those who love peace and justice are beginning to unite
And for the men who worship war their loss of power in sight
Soon war jets will not fly the sky under the cloak of night
And those who promote harmony will be the men of might.

The yearn for peace is spreading getting stronger by the day
And those who are divisive will not have a part to play
In the World of the future the racist and the cruel
Will not have any power at all only the just will rule.

The children who are born today will surely live to see
A World of peace and harmony and of war and hatred free
For the yearn for peace is spreading and with each passing day it grows
And war will be unheard of in forty years or so. 

Maundy Thursday - Well-being and grace for all humankind

Two poems for well-being and grace. One by Susan Davidson which links us to mental health concerns and the other a few simple lines from the Persian mystic Rumi on grace.

Stop, by Susan Davidson 

I used to say ‘Stop the world, I wanna get off’
Now I’ve realised I’m the one who needs to stop
Stop filling every waking minute
Taking every silent space and putting something in it
Stop striving, trying too hard to be the best
When what my mind is crying out for is a rest
Remember kindness, peace and loving
Just breathe, and feel, and notice without judging
Because, as Shakespeare said those many years ago,
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

Grace (Rumi)

You are so weak.
Give up to grace.
The ocean takes care of each wave
till it gets to shore.
You need more help than you know.”

Good Friday- Emancipation of heart, soul, and mind

Emancipation is about freedom. It is about the fact or way of being set free from legal, social, or political restrictions. It is about liberation such as the the social and political emancipation of women. It is about the freeing of someone from slavery.

For this blog, have just chosen one short poem by Mary Angelo, which offers a concept which can be applied to many situations.

Mary Angelou was one of the most significant writers and activists of all time. She is known for her poetry, memoirs, essays, and more. Her 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, explores her early life, which includes sexual abuse. Writing poetry and stories helped her cope with this experience. The poem “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” contrasts the lives of two birds – one free and one caged. The free bird represents white society in America while the caged bird is the black American. With his wings clipped and feet tied, all the bird can do is sing.

“I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” – Maya Angelou

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.

Easter Eve - Eternity our ultimate destination

Eternity is timeless and immeasurable. It makes us contemplate infinity, and the everlasting nature of life. We may not understand what eternity is, but we may believe it.

I have chosen two short poems. One is by William Blake, a romantic visionary and the other is Christina Rossetti, a Pre-Raphaelite

Eternity (William Blake)

He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy
He who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sunrise.

From Diverse Worlds, Time and Eternity (Christina Rossetti)

The half moon shows a face of plaintive sweetness
    Ready and poised to wax or wane;
A fire of pale desire in incompleteness,
    Tending to pleasure or to pain:—
Lo, while we gaze she rolleth on in fleetness
    To perfect loss or perfect gain.
Half bitterness we know, we know half sweetness;
    This world is all on wax, on wane:
When shall completeness round time’s incompleteness,
    Fulfilling joy, fulfilling pain?—
Lo, while we ask, life rolleth on in fleetness
    To finished loss or finished gain.

Easter Day- Kingship of Christ brings realisation.

For Christ’s Kingship I have chosen two poems. One is about the risen Christ and the other is a sonnet called Christ the King which can also be used at the end of the church year. 

Easter Dawn (Mary Lowe Dickinson)
Yesterday, distress and gloom,
Folding shroud and rock-hewn tomb,
Where to-day is light and bloom.

Brooding darkness yesterday,
On the spot where Jesus lay;
Now the stone is rolled away,

And triumphant voices ring,
With the hymn the blessed sing,
Death at last has lost its sting:

Lost its sting and lost its sway,
O'er to-day or yesterday.
Where is now thy victory?

Where thy triumph,vaunting grave?
Seas of pardon softly lave
Souls the Master rose to save,

And the Easter bell's glad strain,
Is for all who, washed from stain,
Rise henceforth o'er sin and pain!

Christ the King (Malcolm Guite)

Our King is calling from the hungry furrows
Whilst we are cruising through the aisles of plenty,
Our hoardings screen us from the man of sorrows,
Our soundtracks drown his murmur: ‘I am thirsty’.
He stands in line to sign in as a stranger
And seek a welcome from the world he made,
We see him only as a threat, a danger,
He asks for clothes, we strip-search him instead.
And if he should fall sick then we take care
That he does not infect our private health,
We lock him in the prisons of our fear
Lest he unlock the prison of our wealth.
But still on Sunday we shall stand and sing
The praises of our hidden Lord and King.

I hope you can glean something helpful from my Lent – Easter reflections

Submitted by Roger Verrall April 4, 2022

SOURCES

Wikipedia

EnglishVerse.com

Collins English Dictionary, Third Edition, Harper Collins Publishers, Glasgow, 1991 

Britannica.com

George Herbert, “Trinity Sunday,” in George Herbert: The Complete English Works, ed. Ann Pasternak Slater, Everyman’s Library (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995), 65.

from The Temple (1633), by George Herbert:

The New Oxford Book of English Verse, Chosen & Edited by Helen Gardner, OUP Oxford 1972/ Reprint 1987

Ancient and Modern - Hymns Ancient and Modern, London 2013

En.wikisource.org 

Sounding the Seasons, Malcolm Guite, Canterbury Press Norwich, 2012

www.poetryfoundation.org

Cambridge Annotated Study Bible (NRSV Bible). Ed.  Howard Clarke Kee, Cambridge University Press. Cambridge 1993

150 Most Famous Poems, Poetry House 2020