Considerable Thoughts

 

 

Where is Your Rest?

Christmas Poem 2022

 

Caesar Augustus, ruler of the Empire

 Reclining on pillows of satin, brow wiped with linens,

 You usher a decree to your subjects-- report and number.

Resting in ability to make men move and heed.

Yet, foretold, only a pawn, 

For in the dawn, Joseph leaves with his betrothed

Registering  his Ancestry of David,

And with her, the Holy seed.

 

Where is your rest, O tyrant of a nation?

In political power, in subjugation?

The manipulation and fear brought,

The bombs you drop?

A True Believer fights emancipation

As refugees cross borders

And kneel in the dust of mortars.

Shepherds, ruler of the flocks

Heads lying on smoother rocks,

The sheep slumber on a clear cold night.

On watch in the fields—your rest

Broken, your bodies unclean

But to you is given a sight unseen.

The Heavens proclaim the New Born King

For all strayed, eyes closed in our dreams.

 

Where is your rest, O ruler of the dark?

Lurking deceiver, a wolf in sheep’s clothing

Determined to snuff out the spark.

Subtle and sneaky if not on our mark.

Spiritual warfare nears and rears

But the Heavens do battle--

Joy in victory tears; chains rattle.

 

Mary, O favored of God

Chosen one, as you proclaim,

“My soul exalts the Lord, and my

Spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour,”  

“I rest in You as I carry Your Son

Your will be done. Deliver soon.

As she straddles the beast sojourning afar,

A weary couple cannot find a room.

Where is your rest, Joseph, my servant?

For even in sleep, never deep

Your thoughts shake the bed.

You consider the facts,

Angels of dreams confirm your acts

And the Gospel is told to one so bold

As you walk the prophesy tracks.

 

Oh, where is your rest fathers and mothers?

Schools and bedrooms no longer safe

Bullets, pills, predators ready to take

What was once wrong now embraced;

Addiction, depression, estrangement unfaced

Sin remains the cause, fathers and mothers pause,

For Christ’s mercy we pray without haste.

Where is your rest, O little Holy child?

For from You the whole world’s unrest divides.

By Your sovereign plan, You-- the Messiah, Immanuel

Provide the peace for our lives to dwell.

“No rest for the weary,” as some may say

But God, a child named Jesus

–in His grace we are saved!

 

Where is your rest, O children of God?

Do you wonder and question this world—

Where is love? Is God above?

Are you bitter, uncertain,

Angry and alone? Is this really your home?

Come to the stable but kneel at the Cross

Close your eyes, rest, take heart--

Believe! Jesus Christ lights all your dark.

\John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.“