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.
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.
