Dear Brothers and Sisters this poem wrote on sixtieth B’ Day in 2019. Please pray for me to get the heart of Mother Mary the humble heart where our Lord resides
Journey to Emmaus
Lord, while your disciples were walking to Emmaus, I was with them.
But I was not counted as your disciple.
Lord, we were talking about you on the way,
And you accompanied us in our journey.
You asked what we were talking about and our faces were downcast.
Unknowingly we said that you are the only one unaware about the happenings in Jerusalem.
About Jesus of Nazareth, who showed himself a prophet,
powerful in action and speech, before God and the whole people;
Our chief priests and leaders sentenced him to death.
They crucified him mercilessly.
We hoped that he would be the one to set Israel free.
And this is not all: two whole days have now gone by, since it all happened;
Some women from our group astounded us:
They went to the tomb in the early morning,
They could not find the body and they came back to tell us;
That they had a vision of angels who declared he was alive.
Some of our friends went to the tomb.
They saw everything exactly as the women witnessed.
They could not see anything except the clothes which covered the body of Jesus.
This seemed unbelievable to us, we don't think he has been taken away or risen.
Jesus said, you foolish men, you are so slow to believe.
You don't understand what prophets have said about Jesus.
Wasn’t it inevitable for Christ to suffer before entering his glory?
I will walk you through the teachings of Moses and all the prophets.
Did Moses not tell you this: 'from among yourselves, from among your own brothers,
Yahweh your God will raise up a prophet like me; you will listen to him.
Again Lord said to Moses, what they have said is well said.
From their own brothers I shall raise up a prophet like yourself;
Listen again to what Isaiah says about Christ,
Lord told 'Ahaz; Listen now, House of David:
Are you not satisfied with trying human patience
That you should try my God’s patience too?
The Lord will give you a sign in any case:
It is this: the young woman is with child.
She will give birth to a son whom she will call Immanuel.
He who is the Saviour of the world brings salvation to all nations.
You are very slow to believe, again Isaiah says: For a son has been born for us,
A son has been given to us, and dominion has been laid on his shoulders;
These are the names he has been given,
‘Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace’
To extend his dominion in boundless peace,
Over the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To make it secure and sustain it in fair judgement and integrity.
From this time onwards and forever, the jealous love of Yahweh Sabaoth will do this.
When Jesus was born, Herod wanted to kill the baby.
He killed all the new born,
All the male children in Bethlehem, two years old and below
And all of them in Judaea.
In the Book of Jeremiah, Yahweh says this: A voice is heard in Ramah,
Lamenting and weeping bitterly:
It is Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.
Rachel from the grave lamented as she was buried in Bethlehem.
But God saved Jesus, because He is His beloved Son
who was to fulfil the Heavenly Father’s plan of Eternal Covenant and Salvation.
He was taken away by his father and mother to Egypt.
As prophesied In Hosea, Lord says this: When Israel was a child I loved him,
And I called my son out of Egypt.
The sufferings and hardships of his father and mother are indescribable.
The travel to Egypt is not within a small distance.
Joseph, his foster father, took care of him more than a real father.
When he was born, his mother and father did not even have a house to give him birth.
Again in book of Jeremiah, Lord said; In those days and at that time,
I shall make an upright Branch grow for David,
who will do what is just and upright in the country.
In those days Judah will triumph, and Israel live in safety.
And this is the name the city will be called: Yahweh-is-our-Saving-Justice.”
‘For Yahweh says this, “David will never lack a male descendant
To occupy the throne of the House of Israel,
His reign will remain forever and ever, who is he? Jesus Christ!
Haven’t you read in Psalms: 'I will proclaim the decree of YahwehY'all
He said to me, ‘You are my son, today have I fathered you.
Ask of me, and I shall give you the nations as your birthright,
While the whole wide world as your possession.“
Read in the Book of Mica, Lord told about the birth of Jesus:
But you (Bethlehem) Ephrathah,
the least of the clans of Judah,
from you will come for me a future ruler of Israel
Whose origins go back to the distant past, to the days of old.
Hence Yahweh will abandon them
Only until she who is in labour gives birth,
Then those who survive of his race will be reunited to the Israelites.
Behold the price they paid for Jesus as you can read in the book of Zechariah:
'I then said to them, ‘If you see fit, give me my wages;
if not, never mind.’ So they weighed out my wages: thirty shekels
And it happened; one of his beloved disciples sold him for thirty shekels of silver.
Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the smelter,
This princely sum at which they have valued me!’
Taking the thirty shekels of silver,
I threw them into the Temple of Yahweh, for the smelter.
Contemplate the sufferings of Jesus, 'Lord Yahweh has given me a disciple’s tongue,
For me to know how to give a word of comfort to the weary.
Morning by morning he makes my ear alert to listen like a disciple.
Lord Yahweh has opened my ears and I have not resisted,
I have not turned away and I have offered my back to those who struck me,
My cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
I have not turned my face away from insult and spitting.
Lord Yahweh comes to my help, this is why insult has not touched me,
This is why I have set my face like flint and know that I shall not be put to shame.
He who grants me saving justice is near!
Who will bring a case against me?
Let us appear in court together! Who has a case against me?
Let him approach me! Look, Lord Yahweh is coming to my help!
Who dares condemn me?
Look at them, all falling apart like moth-eaten clothes!
Which of you fears Yahweh and listens to his servant’s voice?
Which of you walks in darkness and sees no light?
Let him trust in the name of Yahweh and lean on his God!"
Isaiah again prophesied about his passion and our salvation:
He had no form or charm to attract us, no beauty to win our hearts;
He was despised, the lowest of men, a man of sorrows,
Familiar with suffering, one from whom, as it were, we averted our gaze, despised,
For whom we had no regard.
Yet ours were the sufferings he was carrying
And struck with affliction by God;
whereas he was being wounded for our rebellions,
He was crushed because of our guilt;
The punishment reconciling us fell on him,
We have been healed by his bruises.
We had all gone astray like a flock of sheep, each taking its own way,
Yahweh brought the acts of rebellion of all of us to bear on him.
He was ill-treated and afflicted, he never opened his mouth,
Like a lamb led to the slaughter-house,
Like a sheep dumb before its shearers, he never opened his mouth.
Forcibly, after sentence, he was taken.
Which of his contemporaries was concerned
At his having been cut off from the land of the living,
At his having been struck dead for his people’s rebellion?
He was given a grave with the wicked, and his tomb is with the rich,
Although he had done no violence, had spoken no deceit.
It was Yahweh’s good pleasure to crush him with pain;
If he gives his life as an offering for sins, he will see his offspring and prolong his life,
And through him Yahweh’s good pleasure will be done.
After the ordeal he has endured, he will see the light and be content.
By his knowledge, the upright one, my servant will justify many by
he taking their guilt on himself.
Hence I shall give him a portion with the many,
and he will share the booty with the mighty,
For having exposed himself to death
And for being counted as one of the rebellious,
Whereas he was bearing the sin of many and interceding for the rebellious.
Death of Jesus was approaching, as written Psalms,
Lord explains 'Do not hold aloof, for trouble is upon me,
And no one to help me!' none of his disciples besides him
'Many bulls are encircling me,
'Wild bulls of Bashan closing in on me.
Lions ravening and roaring
They open their jaws at me.
My strength is trickling away,
My bones are all disjointed,
my heart has turned to wax,
melting inside me.'
'My mouth is dry as earthenware,
My tongue sticks to my jaw.
You lay me down in the dust of death.
A pack of dogs surrounds me,
a gang of villains closing in on me
as if to hack off my hands and my feet. '
'I can count every one of my bones,
While they look on and gloat;
They divide my garments among them
And they cast lots for my clothing.'
But over the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem
I shall pour out a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look to me.
They will mourn for the one whom they have pierced as though for an only child,
And weep for him as people weep for a first-born child.
See men, Jesus will be risen as mentioned in book of Hosea, the second day he will give us life
The third day God will raise Jesus from the grave
This man, who was put into your power
By the deliberate intention and foreknowledge of God,
You took and had crucified and killed by men outside the Law.
But God raised him to life, freeing him from the pangs of Hades;
For it was impossible for him to be held in its power since,
David says of him: I kept the Lord before my sight always,
For with him at my right hand nothing can shake me.
So my heart rejoiced my tongue delighted; my body, too, will rest secure,
For you will not abandon me to Hades or allow your holy one to see corruption
Again Psalmist David prophesying, I keep Yahweh before me always,
For with him at my right hand, nothing can shake me.
So my heart rejoices, my soul delights,
My body too will rest secure, for you will not abandon me to Sheol,
You cannot allow your faithful servant to see the abyss.
You will teach me the path of life, unbounded joy in your presence,
At your right hand delight for ever.
Yahweh declared to my Lord, ‘Take your seat at my right hand,
Till I have made your enemies your footstool.’
Lord has sworn to David, and will always remain true to his word,
‘I promise that I will set a son of yours upon your throne.
Lord, When we drew near to the village, to our destination,
you were about to part ways; but we pressed you to stay with us admitting that
Our hearts were burning with the love of God,
As you explained everything from Moses to the Prophets and Psalms.
Lord, you accepted our invitation join us for supper.
We brought for you the fresh bread and wine
Then you took the bread, and gave thanks,
You broke it and gave it to us, saying, ‘This is my body given for you;
Do this in remembrance of me.’
You did the same with the cup after supper, and said,
‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood poured out for you.”
Lord, through the breaking of the Bread, your body,
You were breaking the word of God for us.
This opened our eyes and we could see; Jesus
Lord, forgive our sins as we are unworthy to be your disciples
Lord, our eyes were deprived of seeing you.
Our eyes were blinded by the god of this world .
Our minds were boasting that we knew everything.
But our human knowledge cannot comprehend anything about your Kingdom.
Lord, our hearts were burning within as you talked and explained scriptures to us
Lord, indeed you are risen and we believe it.
Now, we are going to Jerusalem and all over the world to tell our brothers and sisters
That we have seen you and to share what you revealed to us while breaking the Word and the Bread.
You were always with us and gave us your Living Word
By mercy and grace, Heavenly Father had chosen us
To know you Lord, and to grow in the knowledge of Christ
But we still could not believe you
During your life on earth, you offered prayer and entreaty,
You cried with loud voice and with full of tears,
To the Heavenly Father who had the power to save you from death,
You heard the call of the Father with reverence.
You have done everything in obedience.
Despite being the Son, you went through sufferings;
And through the sufferings, you were perfected,
You became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation.
Lord, you are the shepherd who willingly gave your own life for us.
When you were doing good things you didn’t show your greatness.
Even when after rising from the tomb you never showed your glory.
But you showed yourself to those who loved you abundantly.
Lord, you are the source of all the goodness.
You are sitting at the right hand of God the Father.
To intercede for us endlessly without counting our sins.
Lord, we love you, we believe you are risen Alleluia, Alleluia, Alle--Lu--iah!!!
Mohny Mathews
Community of Grace
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