Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 8.28-34 (Jesus heals the demon-possessed men)

When he had crossed the Sea of Galilee,
arrived, the region of the Gadarenes.
There came out from the tombs, two men, possessed
by demons, met him, they were violent
so much so that none could e’er, that way, pass.
“O Son of God, what do you want with us?”
they shouted, “have you come to torture us
here prior to the time that has been set?”
Some distance from them, a large herd of pigs
was feeding. Jesus, this, the demons begged:

“If you would drive us out from these two men,
into the herd of pigs then please, us, send.”

He said to them, “Go!” so they all, out, came
and went into the pigs and the whole herd
rushed down the steep bank, fell into the lake
and in the water, there, where they all died.

They went, ran off, those ones, the pigs, who tend,
into the town and all this news they said,
including what had, to the men, possessed
by demons, happened. Then the whole town went
out to meet Jesus and, they saw him, when,
to leave their region, with him, how they plead.

Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 8.18-27 (The cost of following Jesus; Jesus calms the storm)

When Jesus saw, the crowd around him, all,
he gave the orders, to the other side,
to cross the lake. A teacher of the law
then came to him, “I’ll follow you,” he said,
“wherever, Teacher, that it is you go.”
But Jesus said to him, how he replied,
“The birds have nests and foxes have their holes,
but he, the Son of Man, contrariwise,
where he may lay his head, there’re places, no.”
Disciples, one of them, to him inquired,
“Lord, first, my father, please now, let me go
to bury him.” To him, Jesus replied:
“Me, follow, let them bury, let their own,
the dead, themselves.” He got into the boat
and his disciples followed him. A storm,
most furious, and suddenly, it came
upon the lake so that the sweeping waves
went o’er the boat. But Jesus, sleeping, lay.
Then the disciples went to him to wake.
him saying, “Lord, we’re drowning! Please, us, save!”
This, he replied, “O, you of little faith,
why are you so afraid?” Then, up, he raised,
himself, rebuked the wind and too, the waves
and then, completely calm, the lake became.
The men, themselves, asked, scratching at their brains:
“What kind of man is this?” They were amazed.
“The winds and waves, him, even those, obey.”

Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 8.14-17 (Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law)

When Jesus entered into Peter’s house,
he saw her mother, Peter’s wife’s, in bed
with fever. From her body, it went out,
the fever left her when he touched her hand,
and she got up, began to wait on him.

When evening came, were many, to him, brought,
possessed with demons, those, and he drove out
the spirits with a word, healed all the sick.
This to fulfill the words that, through him, spoke,
Isaiah, he, the prophet, this was wrote:

“He took up all of our infirmities,
as well, what he has bore: all our disease.”

Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 8.5-13 (Jesus heals the centurion’s servant)

When Jesus entered to Capernaum,
for help, came to him, a centurion.
“Lord,” he said, “servant, my, at home now lies,
he’s suff’ring terribly and paralyzed.”
To him said Jesus “Shall I come heal him?”
Replying this way, the centurion:
“Lord, under my roof I do not deserve
to have you come, but only say the word,
my servant then will be healed instantly,
for I myself am ‘neath authority:
I’ve my commanders, soldiers under me.
I tell this one, ‘Go,’ then he goes away,
and that one, ‘Come,’ he comes without delay,
I tell my servant, ‘Do this,’ he obeys.”

When Jesus heard this, he was much amazed.
To all those foll’wing him, this what he said,

“I tell you truly I have never found,
with such great faith, in Is’rael, anyone.
I say to you that many will come from
both East and West, the feast with Abraham,
with Isaac, Jacob, there, to take their place,
in Heaven’s kingdom, but they’ll be displaced,
the subjects of the kingdom thrown outside
into the darkness, from there, they will cry,
their weeping, and their teeth, they’ll gnash and grind.”

Then Jesus said to the centurion,
“Go! Just as you believed, let it be done.”
And at that moment, healed, his servant was.

Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 8.1-4 (Jesus heals a man with leprosy)

When Jesus came down from the mountainside,
large crowds, him, followed. He with leprosy,
a man came and, before him, knelt and said,
“Lord, if you’re willing, you can make me clean.”

He, Jesus, reached his hand out, touched the man.
“I’m willing,” he said. “Be Clean!” Instantly,
of all his leprosy, the man was cleansed.
Then Jesus said to him, “That you don’t, see,
tell anyone. But go now to the priest
and show yourself, the gift Moses commands,
a testimony to them, offered as.

Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 7 (The Sermon on the Mount concludes)

“Do not judge, or you will be judged as well.
For in the same way, this, you, I will tell,
that you judge, then how you will be judged too,
and by that measure, that one that you use,
it will be measured to you. Why do you
look at the speck of sawdust in his eye,
your brother’s and you, no attention, pay,
to what is in your own eye, that, a plank?
You hypocrite, first, from your eye, it, take,
the plank out, and then you will clearly see,
to, from your brother’s eye, the speck, retrieve.

“Don’t give dogs what is sacred; do not heave
your pearls to pigs. If that is what you do,
they’ll likely trample them beneath their hooves,
and turn and tear you, pieces, up into.

“Ask and it will be given unto you;
seek and you’ll find; knock and the door will be,
up, opened to you. For who asks, receives,
will everyone; he finds, the one who seeks;
and opened is the door to one who knocks.

“Which of you, if your son would ask for bread,
will give to him a rocky stone instead?
Or if he asks you for a fish that tastes
good would you rather give to him a snake?
If you, then, though you’re evil, know how to
give to your children gifts you know are good,
how much more will your Father, heavenly,
give good gifts to those asking faithfully!
So in all things, to others, what you do,
what you would also have them do to you,
for this, the Prophets and the Law, subsumes.

“You enter through the narrow gate. For wide,
the gate, broad, to destruction, leads, the road,
and many enter through it. But small is
the gate and narrow is the road that leads
to life, and only find it, e’er, a few.

“Watch out for prophets, false. They come to you
in clothing, sheep’s, but they are deep inside
ferocious wolves. By their fruit, recognize
them, you’ll. Do people, from thornbushes, pick
grapes, or do they pick from the thistles, figs?
Likewise, every good tree bears fruit that’s good,
but a bad tree bears bad fruit, it is true.
A good tree, bad fruit, what it cannot bear,
and a bad tree, good fruit, it cannot bear.
Each tree that does not bear good fruit’s cut down
and to the fire, the place where it is thrown.
Thus, by their fruit, will you, them, recognize.

“Not everyone, to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ who says,
will enter into it, the kingdom, heav’n’s,
but only that one who does his commands,
those of my Father who is up in heav’n.
On that day, many will say this to me,
‘Lord, did we, in your name, speak prophesy,
and in your name, drive demons outwardly,
and miracles, a multiplicity,
in your name we performed?’ I’ll tell them plain,
then, ‘I ne’er knew you. From me, get away,
you evildoers, flee without delay!’

“Therefore, those who hear all these words of mine
and, into practice, puts them, like a wise
man who built his house on the rock. The rain
came down, the streams rose, and the winds, against,
blew and beat that house; yet it did not fall,
because where its foundation was installed:
the rock. But everyone, my words, who hears,
and doesn’t put them into practice is
like a man, foolish who, on the sand, built
his house. The rain came down and filled
the streams, the winds blew and they beat against
that house, and it fell downwards with a crash.”

When Jesus finished saying all these things,
the crowds were, at his teaching, all amazed,
because, as one who had authority,
he taught, not as those legal, scholarly,
professors, Pharisees and Sadducees.

Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 6.19-34 (Don’t store your treasures on earth; don’t worry)

“Don’t, treasures, store up for yourselves on earth,
where vermin will destroy, as well, the moths,
and where thieves will break in and steal that wealth.
But, up, in heav’n store treasures for yourselves,
where neither moths nor vermin will destroy,
where thieves don’t break in and, their thefts, employ.
For that, the place where you, your treasure, store,
is also where your heart is at its core.

“It’s like a lamp, the eye, the body, to.
If your eyes, healthy, your whole body full
of light. But if, unhealthy, are, your eyes,
of darkness, full, your body, whole, comprised.
If then the light within you darkness is
how great is that among all darknesses.

“No one can e’er, two masters, faithful, serve
You’ll either hate the one, the other love,
or to the one, you will, devoted, be,
and you’ll despise the other, how you’ll feel.
You cannot serve both God and money, too.

“So therefore, ‘bout your life, what I tell you,
don’t worry ‘bout it, what you will consume;
about your body, what it is you’ll wear.
Is not life more than food, and, than clothes, more,
the body? Look at those up in the air,
the birds; they do not sow, reap, store away
in barns, but yet your Father, heavenly,
he feeds them. Value, than them, don’t you hold
much more? Can any of you ever add
a single hour, by worry, to your life?

“And why do you, ‘bout clothes, feel worry, strife?
See how the flowers of the field all grow.
They neither labor nor do, spinning, know.
Yet I tell you, not even Solomon
in all his splendor was he dressed like one
of these. If that is how God clothes the grass,
that of the field, today, here, soon to pass,
and thrown into the fire on the day, next,
is it not much more likely, you, he’ll dress–
O you of little faith? So worry, not,
by asking constantly, ‘What shall we eat?’
‘What shall we wear?’ or this, ‘What shall we drink?’
For pagans, too, run after all these things,
and he, your Father, heavenly, knows that
you need them. But seek first his kingdom and
his righteousness, then unto you he’ll add
these things as well. Therefore don’t worry, feel,
about, tomorrow, worry, for itself,
tomorrow will possess it then as well.
Each day, enough of its own trouble, filled.”

Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 6.16-18 (Instructions for fasting)

“When you fast, don’t look somber like they do,
the hypocrites, their faces they construe,
to, others, show, how food, they don’t consume.
What I tell you, for certain this is true:
their full reward already has accrued,
but put oil on your head when you will fast
and wash your face so it’s not obvious
to others that you’re fasting presently,
but only to your Father who’s unseen;
and Father, yours, who sees that secretly
what’s done, for that, rewards you generously.”

Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 6.5-14 (The Lord’s Prayer)

“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites,
they love to pray out standing in the streets
and in the synagogues, where others see.
I tell you, their reward have they received
in full. But when you pray, go to your room,
the door closed, to your Father, pray to him,
who is unseen. Your Father, then, who sees
what’s done in secret, he will faithfully
reward you. And don’t keep on babbling
when you pray, like the pagans, for they think
that they’ll be heard because their many words.
Don’t be like them, the Father who is yours
knows what you need, you ask of him, before.

“The way that you should pray, this is how, then:

“‘Our Father, God, your dwelling up in heav’n,
your name be hallowed, and your kingdom come,
on earth as it’s in heav’n, your will be done.
Give us today, just this, our daily bread.
And too forgive us of all them, our debts,
as we, our debtors, we forgive as well.
Into temptation, please, us, don’t propel
but from the evil one deliver us.’

“For if, when others, they, ‘gainst you, transgress,
if you forgive them, what he will express,
forgiveness toward you. But if you do not
forgive them, others, of their sins, he won’t,
your Father, you, your sins, forgive, no doubt.”

Rhyming Redsong: John 20.11-18 (Jesus meets Mary at the tomb)

Now, crying, Mary stood outside the tomb.
As she wept, she bent o’er inside to look
and saw two angels, both were dressed in white,
where Jesus body’d been, there, had their seat,
one at the head, the other at the foot.
They asked her, “Woman, why is it you weep?”
“They’ve taken him, my Lord, away,” said she.
“Where they have taken him I do not know.”
At this she turned around and, Jesus, saw,
there, standing, but she did not realize
that it was Jesus. “Why is it you cry,
dear woman? Who is it you’re looking for?”
She, thinking he was just the gardener,
said “Sir, if you have carried him away
tell me where you’ve put him, and him, I’ll claim.”
That instant, “Mary,” Jesus said to her.
In Aramaic, cried, towards him she turned,
“Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). Jesus said,
“Do not hold onto me for I’ve not yet
ascended to the Father. Go instead
unto my brothers, and go tell all them,
‘Unto my Father, where I will ascend,
your Father, too, my God, as well, of men.’”
To the disciples, Mary Magdalene
went to them with the news, “The Lord, I’ve seen.”
And she told them he’d said to her these things.