A Pilgrimage Memory...

The following poem is a reflection written following a visit to Korazin in Israel, during a 1986 Holy Land Pilgrimage lead by Wayne Monbleau, host of the "Let's Talk About Jesus" radio program...

Photo Credit: en.wikipedia.org

AT KORAZIN

Israel Pilgrimage—1986

We’re at Korazin, trying

to make ourselves comfortable

amid the ancient ruins

of the cursed city

I look for a patch

of dry grass to sit upon;

others sit on some rocks

Wayne props himself

against an acacia tree

We’re wearing head coverings

to shield us from the sun—

It’s hot!

Beside us are box lunches

and water bottles

that we’ve brought

from the hotel

We open our Bibles

to Luke 10:13

Woe to you Korazin;

woe to you Bethsaida…

Wayne begins teaching—

I think of Jesus—

imagine Him propped

against a tree

like Wayne

imagine myself at His feet—

like Mary of Bethany

like an apostle

imagine us opening

our lunch sacks—

barley loaves; some fish

fresh from the depths

of the Galilee nearby

imagine listening to every word

as the Master pronounces woes

on the unrepentant cities

That was nearly

two millennia ago—

This is 1986

It is Wayne who is explaining

the Scriptures to us

not Jesus

We offer praise to God

and sing hallels from the Psalms

A few birds are chirping

The sun-scorched clumps

of grass are lumpy beneath me

I smell the dry earth

and swat at a few pesky gnats

Perspiration beads up on my brow

I wipe it away

It is, I suppose, much the same

as it was way back then

and as it was then for them

I want the Word

to take root inside of me—

be it woes and chastisements

be it beatitudes and blessings—

take root

as it did in Mary

as it did in the apostles

for I, too, am a disciple

of the Lord

Maude Carolan Pych