Sonnets - Seven Strange Stories from the New Testament
Eulogy from One of Mary’s Other Sons
The legacy of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is often reduced to a set of familiar tenets. But perhaps she was more complex than these simplified doctrines. For one thing, though Mary may not have been part of the social elite of her time, she was apparently literate and well-read. Many early artistic depictions show Mary holding a book as she is interrupted by the angel Gabriel, who announces that she will bear a holy child. What was she reading on that fateful day? Also, Jesus was one of several siblings and like any mother, Mary would have tended to all of their individual needs. How would one of Jesus’ brothers have commented on the mother they shared?
Mother’s way was – though we tend to forget –
A silent way, a long lonesome sojourn.
In the stories, she seems fragile and yet
To study our mother is to discern
Solitary strength in a hidden heart.
She loved books and she was – we know – well-read,
But inmost thoughts she was loath to impart:
A treasure of words better left unsaid.
Her strange son, my brother, was less inclined
To keep his words hid, preferring to speak
Of hidden realms. But truths vaguely defined
Still managed to offend both Jew and Greek.
So Mary worried and, in her sage heart,
She grieved those words bound to tear them apart.
2. Judas On Stage (in the Role of Scapegoat)
Was Judas Iscariot more scapegoat than traitor? And why does his betrayal, apparently followed by some measure of repentence, eclipse in shamefulness the (arguably worse) multiple betrayals of the apostle Peter? Some say Jesus was a co-conspirator with Judas in the events that led to his crucifixion. Who knows? But what might Judas tell us?
“How could you have been so heartless?” they ask;
Truth be told, it was easy to be hard.
Too easy, perhaps; So take me to task
For simply drawing the obvious card.
And go ahead, make me star of your show,
Condemned on this stage for your private dreams;
I played the dire part ... that much we all know,
But still, this strange script is not as it seems.
You say sin is conquered, yet Empire stands;
Messiah is dead, let insurgents grieve;
For my miscalculation, I raise hands
In repentance. Where will you find reprieve?
Jesus told me, so I know what’s to be:
The blame for all this will come upon me.
3. The Odd Ascension of Saint Peter
In the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, both James and Peter are taken to task by the Roman tetrarch Herod Antipas for their stubborn allegiance to and worship of the resurrected Christ. But in these otherwise parallel accounts, James is killed and Peter is spared, though they seem to be guilty (in Herod’s eyes) of similar “crimes.” Given Peter’s prior history of fainthearted denial, could one surmise that renunciation saved him here, while James was executed for his firm stance?
Here’s a mystery: Does it not seem odd
That Herod killed James but let Peter live?
Though both claimed faith in an illicit god,
He chose to kill one, the other forgive.
Did James with conviction speak at his trial
While Peter perhaps offered words obscure?
Did Peter avoid death with denial
While James sealed his fate, appearing too sure?
There is history here of coverup,
Three times for Peter, as famously told;
In answer to Jesus, who held the cup,
Is it James, not Peter, now proven bold?
The truth must lie somewhere between the lines
Why fearless James fades while coy Peter shines.
4. Judas in Damascus
Conventional narratives have Judas disappear (either vanished or dead) following the events leading up to and including the crucifixion of Jesus. If Judas did not end his own life (as recounted in only one of the four canonical gospels), where did he go? Later, a man named Judas plays a role in the story of the apostle Paul’s conversion. Could this be the “betrayer” himself, now repentent and engaged in the very birth of Christianity? Maybe not. But ... maybe.
Jesus told me, so I could plainly see
Straight through to the end and I clearly knew
That all blame would surely come upon me,
So in stealth and dark despair I withdrew.
Then in repentance I woke, prayed, and knelt
In fear, with lingering faith undefined;
I pondered it all and in shadows dwelt,
Waiting for the plot to further unwind.
Then a knock brings Ananias my friend
To the threshold with Saul, helplessly blind;
This persecutor now seeks to amend
His legacy of blood with renewed mind.
And so, once partners in sin, this Saul and I
Are brothers in Christ, outlaw and rabbi.
5. The Centurion’s Love (A Gay Reading of Matthew 8:5-13)
In the story of the Centurion who summoned Jesus in secret, does the greater miracle lie in the healing itself or in the great love of a powerful man for the one he loves?
The servant of a Roman commander
Fell ill and – against all caution – his lord
Sought out the man Jesus, risking slander
From colleagues among the privileged horde.
What sturdy cords of affection must bind
This powerful liege to the slave who serves;
Is it noble concern or a more amorous mind
That stirs up the faith that Jesus observes?
Which of these miracles should more amaze:
The servant healed by a wand’ring rabbi
Or this Roman’s love – both outlawed displays,
Two things forbidden, performed on the sly?
In this tale, you may see faith, perhaps chance,
But I see the blessed bonds of romance.
6. Paul Beats the Rap and Dodges a Trial
Many in the Apostle Paul’s orbit – especially the ultra-pious – were incensed with his unorthodox ideas about Jesus’ death and resurrection. But their appeal to Roman authorities backfired when Paul asserted his Roman citizenship, thus necessitated a trial before the Emperor in Rome.
It’s a fam’ly affair, this quest for guilt,
With Paul in the middle and his strange claims,
A base on which conspiracies were built
And prejudice fired with accusive flames.
First Felix, mistaken, hoped he could earn
Some fiscal reward for Paul’s due release;
Then Festus and proud Agrippa in turn
Saw Paul’s fate as their own regal caprice.
A fuming band of accusers stood by
And waited for the royal protocol
That proclaimed a verdict to justify
The sentence of death for the traitor Paul.
But Paul, avoiding a martyr’s display,
Said “Send me to Rome,” thus winning delay.
7. The Scandal of John’s Gospel
In the church we say that God gave up power and overcame distance by becoming human ... for the life of the world, all that strange and outrageous and chaotic life. This might not make sense, but I believe it does make love. (Debbie Blue)
The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact. (C. S. Lewis)
It makes no sense, this ancient oft-told tale
Of earth-bound God whose flesh with spirit blends.
Plato proposed a climb up from the vale,
But for John, the carnal blessing descends.
It’s a scandalous myth, this gospel claim
That Jesus Christ walked particular streets,
Spoke human words, took a creaturely name,
Told stories, and harbored farfetched conceits.
It’s anathema to the trained Greek mind,
Where obscure gods remain distant and veiled,
To imagine a deity defined
In a time and space so clearly detailed.
Yet words are spoken, history unfolds;
In corporeal space, the center holds.