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Bible in Poetry: Gospel of St. Matthew (Chapter 13)

Out of the house, then Jesus went
That day, and by the sea, sat down;
Large crowds had gathered around Him
So, sat He in a boat off-shore,
While crowds were standing on the shore.

He spoke in detailed parables:
‘A sower, went to sow, one day,
Some seeds fell on the path, he walked
And birds ate them up, all at once.’

‘Some fell on rocky ground without
Soil adequate and sprouted but,
The soil wasn’t deep and sun that rose
Had scorched while it withered, rootless.’

‘Some seeds had fallen amidst thorns,
And with the passing of the morns,
The faster growing thorns choked them,
And there remained, just stubs of stem! ’

‘Just some seeds fell on soil-rich ground;
They grew so well and it was found
That they produced fruits many-fold
A hundred / sixty / thirty-fold! ’

‘Those who have ears, then ought to hear! ’
His disciples then questioned Him,
‘Why speak to them in parables? ’

And Jesus told them, in reply:
The kingdom’s knowledge. mystery
To you, has been by God granted,
And not to others by the Lord.’

‘To one who has, given is more;
And richer will he always grow;
From those that have a little then,
Ev’n that will be away taken.’

‘In parables, I speak, that’s why
Because they look but cannot pry
They hear but don’t to them pay heed
Nor do they understand the need.’

Isaiah’s prophecy’s fulfilled;
Though you hear, you understand not.
Indeed they look but dot see.’

‘The hearts of people are so gross,
They hear and yet have hearing-loss;
They’ve closed their eyes, lest they may see,
Their deafened ears have turned stony,
Nor do they understand by heart,
To be by God’s word, a convert;
I heal them all as it’s my part.’

‘Blessed are your eyes because they see
And ears because they hear surely’
Amen, I say to you this day:
So many prophets and righteous
Had longed to see but saw just less,
And did not see or hear quite well
The things you hear and that I tell.’

Then hear the sower’s parable:
‘The seed that’s sown on path is one
Who hears the Word of God and yet,
Does not truly understand it;
The evil one then comes and steals
Away what’s sown within his heart.’

‘The seed on rocky ground is one
Who hears the word at once with joy
But this lasts only for sometime
When persecution, trials come
He tends to fall away from God.’

‘The seed that falls amongst the thorns
Is one who hears the word but then
The lure of worldly lucre choke
And therefore, it can bear no fruit.’

‘The seed that’s sown on soil that’s rich
Is one who hears and understands
And therefore bears fruit manyfold
Depending on each one’s effort.’

He told another parable:
‘Heaven’s kingdom is like a man
In his own field, who sowed good seed;
At night, his enemy sowed weed.
Amongst the wheat and disappeared;
The good crop grew and bore good fruit;
The weeds also grew very well;
His slaves then came and asked landlord,
‘Didn’t you sow good seed in your field?
How did the weeds happen to come? ’

He replied, ’’Tis enemy’s work.’
His slaves then asked the master then,
‘Should we now go, pull out the weeds? ’

The master said, ‘No, if you do,
The wheat could be uprooted too.
Let’s allow both for now to grow
At harvest time, I’ll give orders
To pull out weeds and make bundles;
And burn them until they turn ash,
Then gather wheat and store in barn.’

He told another parable:
‘The kingdom of Heaven is like
A mustard-seed, a person sowed
In a field though, the smallest seed;
When fully grown, it’s a large bush
And birds build nests on its branches.’

He spoke another parable:
‘The kingdom of heaven’s like yeast,
When mixed with much of wheat flour,
It leavens the entire dough.’

Jesus spoke just in parables,
To fulfill what the prophet said:
‘I’ll open mouth in parables;
I will announce what lies hidden
From foundation of this great world.’

When crowds left, Jesus returned home.
His disciples requested Him
To explain parable, He’d said,
That of the weeds, inside the field.

‘He who sows good seed,
Is the Son of Man;
The field’s the world of men;
Good seed are children of kingdom;
Bad seed are children of Satan;
The enemy, devil;
The harvest, end of age;
Harvesters are angels.

‘Just as how weeds are burned
So, at the end of age
The Son of Man will send
His Angels to gather
All evil-doers and
Those causing others, sin.
They’ll be thrown in furnace
Of fire eternal,
With wailing, teeth-grinding;
The righteous shine like sun,
In their Father’s Kingdom! ’

‘Whoev’r has ears, then ought to hear:
‘Heaven ‘s kingdom’s akin treasure,
A person finds buried in field;
He hides it back with joy again
And sells all that he has, to buy
The field with hidden treasure soon.’

‘Heaven’s Kingdom’s like a merchant,
Who goes in search of costly pearls;
And finding just one priceless one,
He sells all that he possesses,
And buys the invaluable pearl! ’

‘Heaven’s Kingdom’s like a net,
That’s thrown into the sea and wet,
To collect fish of every kind.
When full, the net is hauled ashore;
Good ones are isolated there;
The bad fishes are thrown away.’

‘At end of age, ’twill be like-wise
The angels will go separate
The wicked from the righteous ones
And throw them in Fiery Furnace
Where wailing and grinding of teeth
Occur in manner incessant.’
‘Do you then understand? ’ He asked
And all of them well answered, ‘Yes! ’

Then Jesus said, ‘Each instructed
Scribe in Heaven’s Kingdom is like
A head who brings from his household,
And store-room, both the new and old! ’
When Jesus finished parables,
He went away to His place then.

He reached His native place and taught
The people in their synagogue.
They were so astonished and asked,
‘From where did this man get wisdom
And how does He do mighty deeds? ’
‘Isn’t he the carpenter’s son?
Is not His mother Mary called?
Are not His brothers Joseph, James
Simon, Judas and sisters too?
From where does this man get all this? ’

They took offence at Jesus then.
‘A prophet’s not without honor
Except in his house / native place.’
Because of lack of faith in Him,
He didn’t do mighty deeds more there.

(6-2-2007)

poem by John Celes
Added by Poetry Lover
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