Pietro da Cortona: Ananias Restoring the Sight of St.
Paul (1631)
Psalm 30 in Iambic Decameter
(using as much of the NRSV as possible)
(The poem could be sung to a 10.10.10.10 tune such as
TOULON)
I will extol you, Lord, you’ve drawn me up,
Allowing no rejoicing from my foes;
O LORD my God, to you for help I cried,
And you’re the one from whom my healing flows;
O LORD, you brought my soul up from Sheol,
And from the Pit you have my life reclaimed!
Sing praises to the Lord, O faithful ones,
And give your thanks before God’s holy name;
God’s anger only for a moment lasts,
With favor your whole life will God adorn;
Tho’ weeping yet may linger through the night,
You’ll be surprised when joy comes with the morn.
I once said my prosperity is strong,
And like a sturdy mount, I am secure;
But then, you hid your face! I was dismayed!
I pleaded with the Lord to be assured:
“What profit is there in my death?” I cried;
“If I am in the Pit, can dust give praise?
Will it tell of your constant faithfulness?
O hear, O Lord, help with your gracious ways!”
Now you have turned my mourning into dance,
And clothed me not in sackcloth but in joy,
My soul will not be silent, but will praise,
O Lord my God, I’ll give you thanks for aye.*
Scott L. Barton
(*aye: That pesky word heard at the end of the hymn, “Praise
Ye the Lord, the Almighty,” meaning “ever” and pronounced as a long “a.”)
I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up,
and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
O LORD, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment;
his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
By your favor, O LORD,
you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.
To you, O LORD, I cried,
and to the LORD I made supplication:
“What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me!
O LORD, be my helper!”
You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
+ + +
Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
Miraculous Responses
The fishy thing is, Ananias went,
When reason told him that it made no sense -
Except the Lord had called, and told him, “Go.”
Would you? Would you say, "Here I am," and so
Become just like those many others who
Those same words said, though didn't have a clue
Of what it meant? Except, we know - that phrase,
Each time it's said - to us who read - conveys
A risky proposition up ahead,
One where, without God's help, you end up dead.
But Ananias, standing in a line
Of faithful, almost to the start of time,
Responded, and so risked a trip to Saul,
And thus began a church - which fished for all.
Scott L. Barton
(2016)
(Note: The words, "Here am I" or "Here I
am" by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, Mary (Jesus's
mother) and Ananias all portend some risky business that the LORD has in store
for those who answer.)
Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against
the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to
the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way,
men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along
and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He
fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you
persecute me?” He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom
you are persecuting.But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what
you are to do.”The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because
they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though
his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and
brought him into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate
nor drank.
Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord
said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.” The Lord
said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of
Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying,and he
has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so
that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from
many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and
here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.”
But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to
bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I
myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So
Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said,
“Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent
me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”And
immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was
restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he
regained his strength. For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus,
and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is
the Son of God.”
+ + +
John 21:1-19
Omega 3 Antidote to Scarcity
I wonder why John gives the number
Of fish by which they were encumbered
While net hauling, a hundred yards from
The One ashore, who asked that they come
And have some breakfast! I think it's odd,
This detail of halibut or cod;
Why's it there? What's John want us to see -
That they dragged a hundred fifty-three?
Perhaps he's gotten so specific
Because his hero's so terrific
At pointing out the ways unending
That his disciples might be tending
His sheep - plus lambs and sheep be feeding!
At that, he says, we'll be succeeding
When trusting all his grace, exceeding
Whatever 'tis we might be needing.
He passes out the bread and fish, then;
They're holy, too, like bread and wine when
Ever in community we take them
And into loves unnumbered, make them.
Scott L. Barton
(2013)
(Thanks to the Rev. W. Kenneth Williams, when he was pastor
at Rochester, NY's First Baptist Church, for this title)
After these things Jesus showed himself again to the
disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered
there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in
Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said
to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They
went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just after
daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was
Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They
answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the
boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to
haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said
to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put
on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. But the other
disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not
far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. When they had gone ashore,
they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them,
“Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went
aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them;
and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come
and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?”
because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to
them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus
appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,
“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord;
you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he
said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord;
you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him
the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he
said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you
know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt
and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your
hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do
not wish to go.” (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would
glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”
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