In writing this morning’s poem, I realized that I have come to hold some of it’s ‘observations’ as facts.; when , in fact, they are observations. Aaah, the lovely thing about Jesus; He holds each story unique. May you feel the power of his reading of your story, and writing you into his own. J
I reality, I have been ‘writing’ this poem for years, pondering the imperatives we bring to God when we ask for healing. The woman who was bleeding: what happened in the twelve long years leading up to the moment in which she finally reached out and touched Jesus’ robe, and He felt the power of faith go out? I recognize that thoughts of peaceful and breathing midst our current picture of Covid 19 seem mutually exclusive. If you are experiencing pain and personal loss as a result of Covid, I cannot begin to speak into your story in the moment. Only Jesus…
When we received confirmation from the genetics clinic, of a diagnosis for our seven year old daughter’s disability, our other children were 11, 13 and 14. They had some questions: “What does this mean?” “Well…if Jesus healed her, would he change everything?”
Puzzles
Where are the disciples? Has anyone seen Thaddeus…Andrew, James, John
? Did any come with leprosy. Who brought them? After how many seasons in quarantine??
? Did some wait sun-up to sun-down and into first light, like refugees, lined up with diseases like displacement and poverty, the adverse experience of terror
? Did Matthew really mean all: he was a numbers keeper, you know:
“soon the people were bringing all their sick to be healed and all who touched him were healed.”
? Was there a panic, what if I can’t get there in time?
? Did anyone get sunburned, lying in the marketplace.
? What questions did the children ask ? What answers were they given
? Did people talk to the beggars – or were they considered ‘unclean’ And at the end of the day?
? Did anyone, listening to the stories, sneak away to the harbor, freshly healed—to attempt walking on water. This I would really like to know…
? Were some taken aback at transformations; others’ ills completely unknown. Not just acquaintances, but family members, friends…
? Were the newly healed, newly clothed. By what method?
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10 ESV
? what did healing look like. The way things were before, or did God’s kingdom coming in the Healer Jesus bring a new normal
? did old scars go away – the jagged lines disappear
? Does Jesus see me
? Who is He – really…………………………………………………who will I say that He is?
One response that you could make to this post, is to share your heart’s awareness of the names of organizations/nonprofits that you feel are carrying out the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. Thanks…j
The poor, the old, the infirm were common to the marketplace in Jesus’ day. So were people who looked industrious – spinning, sculpting, bartering. And laborers arriving each day, looking for work. It is easy to overlook the pain another might be in, unless he/she chooses to tell us. Some shout it loudly but without clarity, for many to hear; others say nothing at all. While it is easy for us to make quick judgements, what was perhaps most unique in the presence of Jesus was that he knew, and still knows, the pain each of us is in, with or without our telling. I believe he invites this intimacy of story. On this day, however, the people invited Jesus to talk first, “Let us just touch your robe, simply that will make us well!” Their humble, though ramped-up asking of permission, must have started many an interesting conversation. Jesus responded. I wonder if the villagers not only saw Jesus, but also their neighbors differently that day.
Jerusalem Market by Elizabeth Figgie
Looking for Lentils
Husband, we are out of lentils
I traipsed early this market day,
before the sun went steep.
The market wavered before my eyes
miraging people who usually
‘take up space.’
It was not the glaring sun, no, that gave them new dimension
but the shadow of Jesus. I am certain of this.
Lentils I have forgotten.
I thought to buy goat
Oy, that dry old butcher is so gruff (though his lamb the most tender)
He was not there, his carcasses left hanging.
His young wife Abishah is sick – they say
for more than a year. Six children…
He left town at a run…is what they say.
We will feast on goat another time.
Looking for iron…the tool for your plow.
The Skeptic’s in his usual corner…
Offers plenty of opinion, he does, with his high prices.
Well-smithed, his tools! But unfeeling is he…
Today, he was joking
instead of kibitzing.
I went to market looking for news
well, gossip really
My friend sits with the potters;
gossip I got. She said
“I only sold two pots today…two pots!
Still, I’d take rampant joy over coins any day.”
Joy…perhaps she is lonely like me.
All those pot-makers… Who knew?
Jesus – how can he make things so different?
Melons and baubles dropped obsolete.
Olives an afterthought.
On display today—
patience, kindness, goodness.
That rascal Enosh carried Merari
all the way from far hill. They say
he found him, fallen in the ravine
on his way to barter grain.
Enosh usually has time for no one.
I wonder what changed…
And Rahab’s daughter, she is often out of town.
Aloof
She rarely comes to market…
at least not this one.
She waited here with the rest of us
quiet, no harm in that,
after we heard Jesus was on his way.
Blind Ezer’s parents – every market
they kneel and pray
At day’s end, I saw them walking
walking minus their usual basket of chicken and fruit
Ezer was not with them.
First time I have ever seen them standing tall…
And the children. Husband, the children
You know how they play in the giant sycamore?
Nothing… they were all hanging on Jesus today
dancing at his skirts.
“Jadon, Jadon, our friend Jadon. His leg is shrivelled…shriveled like a stick.
Touch him…touch him, Jadon!!! I bet you could run real quick…”
“And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.”
? for reflection: How are your current circumstances changing the way you view others? Yourself?
? How might inviting the Healer Jesus into the picture, change your perspective?
for anyone who has ever loved and hoped for a sick child
Was anyone six
who lay on a bed
bruised and broken
afore he had…
lived?
First trip to market—
or do child and corner already belong
claimed by a cup
where alms trickle across his palm
(instead of caterpillars)
Did someone tell a story?
Who first
Jesus or lad,
imagination’s energy quite different
from one small.sickly.frame
Is mother at home?
heart shackled to his side
hope her companion
she – begging
for life
Did Jesus speak?
some have heard these words
“I know what she needs…”
“She is merely asleep.”
“Rise up and walk.”
“No one sinned.”
“I might be glorified” through
one small.child’s.dance
What did the child hear?
“Shhh…it’s our secret…”
pound right here
Did he remind Jesus of seven
hide-n-seek in the crowd
the game of a thousand temple questions?
hammer and nails…
hammer and nails…
There are bumps and bruises to be had
I must be about my Father’s business
hammer and nails…
Was anyone six?
did Jesus hold back a grin
for another tale to be told?
what hearts did he heal
as child clambered up…
Finish the market piggyback—
Does this not offend?
Child swagger
grounded
in hanging on to a bigger hem.
jfig 4/2020
Dear Reading Friend,
This poem took me on a lot of tangents. In following them, I stumbled onto ideas I’d never considered before, so it was worth the journey. Thank you for joining me.
Questions to ponder:
? In what way is Jesus inviting you to ‘hang on, childlike, to the hem of his garment?
? We are often reminded to ‘have childlike faith.’ In what ways do children uniquely image their creator?
The poem references these passages: Mark 5:35-43; John 9:3; Matthew 18:3; Ephesians 5:1. You can access scriptures at https://www.blueletterbible.org/
Also, I lost a day somewhere…I’m not going to worry too much about that. If you are still on day 15, we are not lost from each other, nor hopefully from the one who is leading the way. jfig
Would that we could all escape down some private alley
to first fix ourselves before meeting the feet of Jesus.
Not so…
it is Jesus we need
Lots cast, our stained hands
grasp his sacred robe.
We run toward
the one who barters for our souls.
Carry each other—to the cross.
Humble distance
to bear shame
toward one—burden bearer
powerful enough to carry
shame’s tangled sham away forever.
I am no longer ‘for sale.’
Jesus has paid the price.
jfig 3/2020
Dear Friend,
I believe that Jesus has the power to transform one’s life in whatever way is needed. Isaiah 61 is a beautiful passage about his intent toward us: his gifts of freedom and the outcome of God’s power to renew us and give us a place of purpose in his kingdom.
Isaiah 61:1-3. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that he may be glorified.” You can read the entire passage here: “Isaiah 61:1 (ESV) – The Spirit of the Lord.” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 15 Apr, 2020. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/isa/61/1/s_740001>.
1)This poem touches on topics of shame, which one experiences both because of choices that one has made, and as a result of what others have done. I believe that Jesus comes to the marketplaces of Gennesaret in our lives to set us free from either. This is my prayer for all of us.
Jesus Healer, this poem touches on places of pain in us: wounds that bleed, and heavy pulling scars. We believe you have the power to heal. Heal us we pray, from the pain and shame that we drag around with us. We have landed here at your cross, our only safe place for letting go. We love you. We trust you.
You invite us to sin no more. We acknowledge sin’s destructive power and ask for growing strength to be new Jesus-kingdom people, to grow in the righteousness and beauty of your healing intent. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen
jfig 3/2020
Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
My husband is a man of succinct words, much preferring the efficiency of a short video clip to the expansiveness of pages. But he listened quietly when I told him about 30 Days in Gennesaret, and Jesus healing the sick; how the scene intrigues with its words ‘all’ and ‘marketplace’. He listened about the juxtaposition of pandemic, and how the thirty days of April provide a creative vehicle.
Then he said,
Yes,
and then came Easter
and Jesus healed the whole world.
tfig 3/2020
The construction of this cross was prompted by the creative mind of Carlo Furlan, and the willing hands of Tim Figgie. You can find Carlo’s music here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/CarloFurlanMusic/
30 Days in Gennesaret is a creative reflection project focused upon the scene of Jesus healing the sick in the region of Gennesaret. The scene is described in Mark 6: verses 53-56. In the passage, it states that all around the region, people brought their sick to the marketplaces. And Jesus healed them when they touched his cloak. For the next few days, this word marketplace will seed our poems.
Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13 NLT
I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me. John 10:14 NLT
Today’s poem captures snippets of conversations I have had with a friend who has suffered much. It alludes to the question that perhaps we all raise in one way or another, “Why does a good God allow suffering?” To really grapple with the question takes a certain amount of bravery, let alone live the stories that prompt it. Following the poem, is a scaffolding of scripture references from which to explore further if you are interested.
My Sister is Suffering
My sister is suffering,
years now into it
breathing loss in pinched increments
as if it were air.
My heart rends a little each day
waiting.
Translucent
her beauty,
shines through
as if the holes
filled in
with flowers.
“Jesus is here!
In Gennesaret.”
We conversed
on our hurried way.
I asked
“How will we know…?”
She said simply
“I wait each day—
his sustaining glance
his whispers round suffering
his assurance of keeping
I wait each day.”
“His voice I know
His whispered caress
‘Easy, my child
you’ve nothing to fear.
I am with you in pain
My strength will suffice.’
So filled up with Jesus,
this sister of mine
“Oh, Brother, I’ll know Him
It will take but a touch.
I’ll know him, dear brother—
let’s hurry, let’s fly.”
jfig 3/2020
Psalm 27: John 17:3; Romans 5:1-5; Romans 8:16; I Corinthians 1:23,24; John 10:14
Photo was taken by Cathy Barger Hoesterey near Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I chose this photo for the fierceness with which this young girl cares for her siblings.
Mark 6:53-56 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. They ran throughout the whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever the heard he was. And wherever he went – into villages, towns or countryside – they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
At times, the weight of another’s pain, feels more than I can bear. This poem alludes to the positive motives in that desire – goodness, hope – but I have sometimes felt the need to see others well for reasons of fear, exhaustion, boredom, the need for reassurance that Jesus truly can heal, that there is hope. Mercifully, God never loses sight of where we are going on this journey called faith.
waiting…we are not very practiced at it nowadays. Jesus healing in Gennesaret does not (I think,) preclude any waiting that may have occurred that day, or even for long seasons before. This poem is a perspective on waiting midst suffering, for healing to come.
1.Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. NLT
3-5. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. NLT
Roasted Words 