Psalm 23, Final

The LORD, my shepherd, is, I, nothing, lack.
Me, downwards lie in pastures, green, he makes.
The quiet waters, he leads me beside,
my soul refreshed. Along the paths, those right,
he guides me for his name’s sake. Though I walk
the valley, through it, e’en that one most dark,
I will no evil, fear, for you’re with me;
your rod and staff are comforting to me.

Before me, there, a table, you prepare,
my enemies, a place where they’re aware.
My head with oil, anoint, that’s what you do;
it overflows, my cup. For surely, your
love, goodness, both of them will, me, pursue
all of the days of my life, and I will,
fore’er in heaven in the LORD’s house, dwell.

Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 24 (Jesus Makes Apocalyptic Predictions)

The temple, Jesus left, and walked away,
when his disciples, up to him, they came,
to call attention, his, to buildings, its.
“Do you see all these things?” to them, he quizzed.
“I tell you truly, not one single stone
here will be left, another, on; each, one,
and ev’ry, of them will be downwards thrown.”

As Jesus made the Olives’ Mount his seat,
disciples, the, came to him privately.
“Tell us when this will happen,” what, said, they,
“and what sign will, your coming, indicate,
and also of the ending of the age?”

Then Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one
deceives you. Many, for, to you will come
in my name, and, ‘I’m the Messiah’, claim,
and, many, will, their fraudulence, deceive.
Of wars, reports and rumors, you’ll receive,
but, to it that you are, alarmed, not, see.
Such things must happen, but the end is still
to come. Against each other, nations will
rise, kingdom ‘gainst another kingdom wars.
Both famines, too, and quakings of the earth,
in, places, various. And all these are
just the beginning of the pains of birth.

“Then, to be persecuted, put to death,
you will be handed over, and you will
be hated, ‘cause of me, by nations, all.
At that time many will turn, from, away,
the faith, and hate each other, too, betray,
and many prophets, false, they will appear,
and many people, they’ll deceive, for sure.
Because of wickedness, its growing sum,
the love of most will grow cold, but the one
who stands firm to the end, saved, he will be.
And then, in the whole world, this gospel preached,
that of the kingdom, as, to, nations, all,
a testimony, then the end, come, will.

“So when you, in the holy place, observe
‘abomination, the’, who’s standing there,
‘that causes desolation,’ who’s referred
to by the prophet, Daniel, through his words–
the reader, let him understand–then let
those who are in Judea, to their clefts,
flee to the mountains’. Let no one go down,
who’s on the housetop, to take, of the house,
out, anything. Let no one in the field
go back to get their cloak. How it will be
for pregnant women, dreadful, in those days,
and nursing mothers! That your flight won’t, pray,
take place in winter, on the Sabbath day.
For then there will, distress, be that is great,
unequaled from the world’s beginnings till
now–and what, equaled, be, again, ne’er will.

“No one, survive, would, if they had not been
cut short, those days, for that of the elect,
their sake, they will be shortened in their length.
At that time, anyone, if to you, says,
‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or instead,
“There he is!’, do not, it, believe, their claim.
For as the lightning that comes from the east
is even visible out in the west,
so will be that, the coming of the Son
of Man. Wherever there’s a carcass found,
there will be vultures gathering around.

“Immediately after the distress
of those days, ‘the sun’s light will be suppressed,
the moon won’t any longer give its light;
the stars will fall from their place in the sky,
and shaken, will be bodies, heavenly.’

“Then will the sign of him, the Son of Man
appear in heaven. And, of the earth, then,
the peoples, all, will mourn when they see him,
the Son of Man who’s coming on the clouds
of heaven, with great glory, too, and pow’r.
And he will send his angels with a loud
call of the trumpet, and, from the four winds,
they’ll gather his elect, from one of them,
the heavens’ ends out to their other end.”

“Now from the fig tree, learn this lesson well:
As soon as its twigs, tender, get, and they’ll
come out, its leaves, you know that summer’s near.
E’en so, when, these things, to you, would appear,
you know that it is near, right at the door.
I tell you, truly, they’ll not pass away,
this generation, until all these things
have happened. Earth and heaven, pass away,
will, but my words will never pass away.

“But no one knows about that day or hour,
not even angels who in heaven soar,
nor does the Son, but only him above,
the Father. Noah’s days, in, as it was,
at that, the Son of Man’s, so it will be,
his coming. Two men will be in the field
together, one of them will be retrieved,
the other one left solitarily.
Two women with a hand mill making grist,
one will be taken, and the other, left.

“Therefore keep watch, because you’re not informed,
on what day that he’ll come again, your Lord.
But, understand this: If he would have known
at what time in the night, who owned the home,
the thief was coming, he would have, watch, kept,
and, broken into, his house be, not let.
So also you must be prepared, alert,
because the Son of Man, when he will come,
an hour that you are not expecting him.

“Who is the wise and faithful servant then,
he, whom the master’s put in charge of them,
the servants in his household to provide
their food to them at that, the proper time?
That servant, for, it’s good, whose master finds
him doing so when he returns. I tell
you truly, he, in charge, put him, of all,
will, his possessions. But suppose that if
that servant’s wicked and says to himself,
‘Away, my master’s staying a long time,’
and he, his fellow servants, then begins
to beat, and drunkards, with them, eats and drinks.
The master of that servant will come on
a day when he does not expect him and,
an hour, at, that is not of his design.
To pieces, he will, up, that servant, slice
and him, with hypocrites, a place, assign
where, weeping, gnashing of the teeth, you’ll find.”

Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 23 (Seven Woes To the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law)

Then Jesus said this to the crowds around,
and also to, disciples, his, aloud:

“The teachers of the law and Pharisees,
those who are sitting there, in Moses’ seat.
You must be careful to do everything
they tell you to do. But you should refrain
from what they do, for, practice, they do not,
what they preach. Their loads are both heavy, great,
they’re cumbersome; they tie them up and place
them, other people’s shoulders, on, but they
themselves aren’t willing, to alleviate
a single finger, lift, the burden, to.

“For people to see, everything they do,
is done: they make phylacteries, their, wide,
and they, their garments’ tassels’ length, extend;
they love the place of honor, banquets, at,
and, in the synagogues, important seats,
the most; they love it when you, them, would greet,
out in the marketplace, with great respect,
and to be called, by others, ‘Rabbi.’ But
you are not to be, ‘Rabbi’, called, for just
one Teacher, you have, and you, brothers, all,
are. And don’t anyone here, ‘father’, call,
on earth, for you, a single Father, have,
and it’s in heaven, that place where he lives.
Nor are you to be, e’er, instructors, called,
for only one Instructor that you have,
him, the Messiah. He among you all
who is the greatest will your servant be.
For they’ll be humbled, who, themselves, exalt,
and those, themselves, who humble, you will see,
they’ll be exalted, honored, be, they will.

“You teachers of the law and Pharisees,
woe to you for your gross hypocrisy!
In people’s faces, how it is you shut
the door of heaven’s kingdom. You do not
yourselves, there, enter, nor will you permit
those others’ entrance who make the attempt.

“You teachers of the law and Pharisees,
woe to you for your gross hypocrisy!
To win, you travel o’er the land and sea,
a single convert, and when you succeed,
you make them twice as much, again, a child
of hell as you are. Woe to you, blind guides!
You say, ‘If, by the temple, swear, would anyone,
that nothing is what that commitment means,
but if someone swears by the temple’s gold,
then binding is the nature of their oath.’
You blind fools! Which is greater: first, the gold,
or that, the temple, by which, sacred, made,
it is? You also say, ‘If anyone
would, by the altar swear, naught would it mean;
but anyone who’d swear by that, the gift,
the altar, on, they’re bound by it, that oath.
You blind men! Which, its greatness, is it more:
the gift you place upon the altar or,
the altar that, the gift, will, sacred, make?
Therefore, if any, by the altar, swears,
swears by it and aught that on it might lay.
And, whoe’er, by the temple, swears, as well
swears by it, too, the one who in it dwells.
And any who by heaven they would swear,
swears by God’s throne, the one who’s sitting there.’

“You teachers of the law and Pharisees,
woe to you for your gross hypocrisy!
You give a tenth of all your spices, herbs–
mint, dill, and cumin. But what you ignore,
the, matters of the law, important, most–
to render justice, mercy, faithfulness.
The latter ones, you should have practiced them,
while none of them, the former, you’d neglect.
You blind guides! You would outwards strain a gnat,
but swallow whole a camel like a snack.

“You teachers of the law and Pharisees,
woe to you for your gross hypocrisy!
The outside of the cup and dish, you clean,
but they, inside, are filled up with great greed
and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee!
First, clean the inside of the cup and dish,
and then your outside, clean, condition, its.

“You teachers of the law and Pharisees,
woe to you for your gross hypocrisy!
You are like whitewashed tombs, which, beautiful,
look, on the outside, but inside they’re full
with bones, the dead’s, and everything unclean.
In the same way, as righteous, you will seem
to people on the outside, but inside
you, wickedness, hypocrisy reside.

“You teachers of the law and Pharisees,
woe to you for your gross hypocrisy!
You build tombs for the prophets, decorate
the gravesites of the righteous. And you say,
‘If we had lived in our ancestors’ days,
we never would, a part, in that, e’er played
with them in shedding any prophet’s blood.’
So testify against yourselves, you would,
that you’re descendants of those ones who had,
the prophets, murdered. Go ahead, then and
complete what you ancestors once began!

“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How, you, will,
escape your condemnation into hell?
Therefore, I’m sending prophets out to you,
with sages, also teachers, tell the truth.
Some of them you will kill and crucify;
and others, in your synagogues, you’ll flay,
and, them, you will pursue from town to town.
And so, on you, will all of it come down,
the righteous blood that’s e’er, on earth, been shed,
to that of him, from righteous Abel’s blood,
the blood of Zechariah, he’s the son
of Berekiah whom you murdered there,
between the temple and the altar, where.
I tell you truly, all of this will come
this generation, on. Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, you who, the prophets, kill,
and stone those sent to you, this, how I feel:
how often I have longed to gather them,
your children, all together, as a hen
would gather up, beneath her wings, her chicks,
and you were willing, not. Look, your house is
left to you, desolate. For I confess,
you won’t see me again until these words,
about the prophets, that you would say, ‘Blessed
is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

The Queen Who Died of Love

Once was a queen, there in Bohemia,
the gentle sister of the King of Thule.
Her beauty, other queens’, exceeding theirs,
was solely by her beauty that she ruled.

That troubadour, the great Bohemian,
one autumn evening that was red and sad,
he murmured, ‘I love you!’, the old refrain.
O foolish souls and hearts, by love, are crazed!

The pure white beauty, what it is she’d know?
She, by the gentle poet, was loved so
that at that very instant, her white soul
expired and to the stars, did upwards float.

The great bells ringing in Bohemia,
and too, the small ones, in Thule’s skies, above,
for her the last “Hosannas” singing, pealed,
they’re mourning for the Queen who died of love.

T. H. Chalm (1967-2015)

Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 22 (The Parable of the Wedding Banquet; Paying Caesar’s Tax; the Resurrection; Jesus Silences the Jewish Leaders)

To them, again, in parables he spoke,
with Jesus saying, “Heaven’s kingdom’s like
a king who had a wedding feast prepared.
He sent his servants to those who, been, had,
invited to the feast to tell to them
that they should come, but they refused to come.

“Then he sent some more servants and he said,
‘Tell those who have, invited, been, I, that,
my dinner, have prepared: My oxen and
my fattened cattle all have, butchered, been,
and everything is ready. Now, to, come,
the wedding feast.’ But, went off, each of them,
and no attention any of them paid–
one to his field, one to his business place.
The rest, his servants, seized, and them, disgraced,
and killed them. At this, the king was enraged.
He sent his army and, those murderers,
destroyed, and, to the ground, their city, burned.

“Then he said to his servants, ‘It’s prepared,
the wedding banquet, but, did not deserve
to come, those whom I had invited there.
So to the corners, street, go and invite,
the banquet, to, just anyone you find.’
So out they went, the servants to the streets
and gathered all the people they could see,
both those, the bad, as well as them, the good,
and up with guests, the wedding hall was filled.

“But when the king came in, the guests, to know,
he noticed a man there, his wedding clothes,
he wasn’t wearing. Of him, the king asked,
‘How did you get in here without them, friend,
your wedding clothes?’ And speechless was the man.

“Then the king told attendants, the, ‘Tie him
both by his hand and foot, and then expel,
throw him out to the darkness where there will
be weeping, also gnashing of the teeth.’

“For many are invited to the feast,
but few are those who’re chosen, there, to eat.”

Then, out, the Pharisees went, and laid plans
to trap him in his words. They sent to him
disciples, their, with the Herodians
along. They, “Teacher,” said, “we know that you
are a man of integrity, the truth,
you teach the way of God, according to.
You are not swayed by others ‘cause you pay
attention, none of your, to who, are, they.
Please, then, what’s your opinion, to us, say?
Is it right for us Jews, that tax, to pay,
imperial, to Cesar, yay or nay?”

But Jesus knowing, evil, their, intent,
said, “Why do you, to trap me, this, attempt?”
Show me the coin you use, the tax, to pay.”
They brought him a denarius. “Whose face,
whose image is this, whose inscription writ?”
Replied, they, “Caesar’s.” To them, he said this:
“So give to Caesar back that which is his,
to Caesar, and to God that which is God’s.”

When they heard this, they greatly were amazed,
so then they left him, and they went away.

The Sadducees, that same day, those who say
there is no Resurrection, to him came
with, question, a. “Good teacher,” what they said,
“as Moses told, a man would die, that if,
without, some children, having, brothers, his,
must marry her, the widow, and, up, raise,
some offspring for him. Now ‘mongst us once lived
some brothers, seven. Was, the first one, wed,
and then he died, and since he, children, had
no, he left his wife to his brother and
the same thing happened to the brother, next,
as well the third, until the seventh, last,
to him. The woman fin’lly died. Now at
the resurrection whose wife will she be,
the seven, of, since, brothers, all of these,
were, to her, married?” Jesus, this, intoned:

“You are in error ‘cause you do not know
the Scriptures or the pow’r that God can show.
The resurrection, at, the people will
not marry nor, in marriage, be impelled;
be like the angels, heavenly, they will.
But ‘bout the resurrection of the dead,
have you not, what God said to you, e’er read?
‘I am the God of Abraham, the God
of Isaac, and of Jacob, I’m his God’?
He is not, of the dead, the God, but of
the living.” When the crowds heard this, were, they,
astonished at his teaching and his ways.

That Jesus silenced them, the Sadducees,
when they had heard of this, the Pharisees,
they got together. One of them who was
an expert in the law, him, tested, with
this question: “Teacher, in the Law, which is
the greatest of them, the commandments, all?”

Replied, he, Jesus: “‘Love the Lord your God,
with all your heart, with all your soul and mind.’
Of the commandments, this one is the first,
and also is the greatest of the list.
And, too, the second is like it as well:
‘Your neighbor, love, as you would love yourself.’
All of the Law and Prophets hang on these
commandments, two.” While they, the Pharisees,
were gathered all together, Jesus asked
them, “What do you, ‘bout the Messiah, think?
Whose son is he?” This, they, to him, replied:
“The son of David.” He, to them, this, spake:

“Then how is it that David, speaking by
the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For what he says:

“‘The Lord said to my Lord the following:
“Sit at my right hand till your enemies,
I put them, subject to you, ‘neath your feet.”’

“If David then calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he
be his son?” No one could say further words,
reply, in, and from that day on, none dared
to ever ask him any, questions, more.

Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 21 (Jesus Enters Jerusalem; Jesus Curses the Fig Tree; Jesus Confronts the Jewish Elders)

As they approached Jerusalem and came,
upon the Mount of Olives, to Bethphage,
disciples, two, sent Jesus, to them, said:
“Go to the village, that’s, of you, ahead,
and there, at once, these two, what you will find:
a donkey with her colt by her that’s tied.
Untie them and then bring them both to me.
If anyone, to you, says anything,
say that the Lord needs them and, send, he will,
them right away.” This took place to fulfill
what, spoken through the prophet, was: “Say to
her, daughter Zion, ‘See your king, to you,
comes gentle, riding on a donkey, colt,
upon them both, the donkey with her foal.’”

Went, the disciples, and as Jesus told
them, that is what they did. The donkey, colt,
they brought and placed their cloaks on them, to sit,
for Jesus, on. A very large crowd spread
their cloaks upon the road, while others cut
some branches off the trees and, on, spread them,
the road. Ahead of him, that went, the crowds,
and those that followed shouted out these words:

“Hosanna to the son of David!” “Blessed
is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!” When
Jerusalem, to, Jesus, entered, had,
the city, whole was stirred and asked, “Who’s this?”
“The prophet,” the crowd answered, “Jesus, is,
this, the, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

The temple courts, then, Jesus, entered, he,
and drove out those engaged in commerce there,
those who were buying and, too, selling wares.
The money changers tables he, o’er, shoved,
the benches of those who were selling doves.

“It’s written, ‘My house will,’” to them he said,
“‘be called a house of prayer,’ but this instead,
you’re making it into ‘a robbers’ den.’”

The blind, and too, the lame both came to him,
the temple, at, and he healed all of them,
but when the chief priests, teachers of the law,
the things, most wonderful, he did, they saw
and in the temple courts, heard children shout,
“Hosanna to the son of David!”, out,
they were indignant. “Do you hear what they,
these children, say?” they asked him. Jesus said,
“Of course, ‘From children’s lips,’ have you not read,
‘and infants, you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?”

And he left them and went to Bethany,
out of the city where, that night, he’d sleep.

As Jesus was, in morning’s hours, wee,
on his way back into the city, he
was hungry. Seeing by the road, a, tree,
fig, he went up to it but nothing found
on it except for leaves. Then this he said
to it, “May, never, you, bear fruit again!”
Immediately, withered, was the tree.
Amazed were the disciples, when, this, seen,
they had. “How did, the one sans figs, the tree,
so quickly wither?” of him they inquired.

“I tell you truly,” Jesus then replied,
“if you have faith and doubt, you would eschew,
not only can you do what was done to
the fig tree but you also could, it, tell,
this mountain, ‘To the sea, go, throw yourself,’
and it will be done. If, this, you believe,
whate’er you ask, in prayer, for, you’ll receive.”

The temple courts, to, Jesus entered in,
and, while he, teaching, was, they came to him,
the elders of the people and chief priests.

“By what authority, are you, things, these,
them doing,” they asked, “and who gave you this
authority?” Replying, Jesus, “I
will also just a single question ask,
and if you answer, I will, you, apprise,
authority, I do these things, what, by.
So, John’s baptism, where did it come from?
Was it of heav’n’s, or human origin?”

They said this, once they’d ‘mongst themselves, discussed,
“If we say, ‘Heaven, from there,’ he will ask,
‘Then why did you believe him, not,’ but if
we say, ‘Of human origin’– we risk
the people’s wrath, of them, we’re sore afraid,
for ‘John’s a prophet,’ that is what they say.”

“We don’t know,” so, to Jesus, answered, they.

Then he said, “Neither will I tell to you,
by what authority, these things, I do.”

“What do you think: there was a man who had
two sons. He went, the first, to, and he said
today, go and work in the vineyard, Son.”
“I will not,” answered he, but later on,
he changed his mind, and to the vineyard, went.
The father, to the other son, went, then,
and said the same thing to him. Answered he,
“I will, sir,” but, there, he did not proceed.
Which of these two did what his father wished?”

“The first,” they answered. Jesus, to them, quipped:
“The tax collectors and the prostitutes,
I tell you truly, they’re ahead of you
at entering God’s kingdom for John came
to you to show you righteousness, its way,
and you did not believe all that he said,
but tax collectors, prostitutes both did.
And even after you had all this seen,
you still did not repent and, him, believe.

“Now listen to another parable:
a vineyard planted in land, arable,
was by its owner. It, ‘round ‘bout, a wall
he put, a winepress, also, dug in it,
and a watchtower, over all, he built.
Then to some farmers, vineyard, the, he leased,
and moved his household to another place.
The harvest time, when it approached, he sent
three servants to his tenants to collect
his fruit. The tenants seized those three who served:
they beat one, killed the second, stoned the third.
Then other servants, more, to them he sent,
than the first time. The tenants treated them
the same way. Last of all, his son, he sent
to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said,
but when the tenants saw the son they said,
each other, to, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s
kill him and take all his inheritance.’
So they took him and, out, from -yard, the vine,
they threw him, and they killed him. Therefore, when
the owner of the vineyard comes, what will
he do to them, the tenants who, him, killed?”

“A wretched end, those wretches, to, bring, he’ll”
replied they. “And he will the vineyard, lease
to others tenants who will, him, supply
his share of fruit that’s sown at harvest time.”
To them, said Jesus, “Have you never read
in Scriptures, Psalms: ‘The stone rejected by
the builders has, the cornerstone instead
become; the Lord has done this, in our eyes,
and, it is marvelous’? Therefore, I tell
you that God’s kingdom, from you, will,
away, be taken, and then given to
a people who’ll produce the kingdom’s fruit.
Who, anyone, falls on this stone will be
to pieces broken; anyone on whom
it falls, that one will be crushed certainly.”

When the chief priests and, too, the Pharisees
heard Jesus’ parables, they knew his speech,
about them, was, and they looked for a way
to, him, arrest, but they were much afraid
of all the crowds because the people held
that he, a prophet, was, if truth they’d tell.

Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 20 (The Vineyard and the Workers; The Greatest in the Kingdom; Jesus Heals Two Blind Men)

“For heaven’s kingdom, this is what it’s like:
an owner of some land went out to hire
in early morning, workers for his vines,
those of his vineyard. He agreed to pay
them a denarius as one day’s wage
and to his vineyard, in there, he sent them.
‘Bout nine o’clock, in morning’s time, he went
out and saw others in the marketplace,
there standing, doing nothing. He told them
‘You also go and, in my vineyard, strain,
and you, whatever’s right, is what I’ll pay.
So they went. ‘Bout noon, he went out again,
and ‘bout three in the afternoon to find
more workers. In the afternoon, ‘bout five,
he went out and still others, he found, whom,
just standing ‘round. He asked them, ‘Why have you
been standing here all day long, doing naught?’
“They answered, ‘No one has hired us, because.’
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work,
my vineyard, in!’ When evening time, towards dark,
the vineyard owner, to his foreman, said,
‘The workers, call, and them, their wages pay
beginning with the ones who were hired last
and going on until you reach the first.’
The workers who were, five o’clock, ‘round, hired,
the afternoon, in, a denarius,
what each received. So when they had arrived,
those hired first, they thought payment, more, was just.
But each of them, just one denarius,
what they received. How, grumbling, they began,
when they received it, the landowner, ‘gainst:
‘These, only one hour worked, who were hired last,’
they said, ‘Them, equal to us, you have made,
who’ve borne the burden of the work, the day,
its heat.’ But answered, he, to one of them,
‘I am not, unfair, being to you, friend.
Did not, for one denarius, agree,
you, to do work? Now take your pay and leave.
I want to give the one who was hired last
the same as I gave you. Do not I have
the right to do what I want with my stuff,
my money, or is it you’re envious
because to them I was so generous?
So the last will be first, first will be last.’”

Now Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He took the twelve aside along the way.
“Jerusalem,” is what he said to them,
“we’re going there, and he will be conveyed,
the Son of Man, unto the priests who’re chief,
and to those ones, the law is what they teach.
To death, they’ll, him, condemn, and then convey
him over to the Gentiles to be mocked
and flogged and crucified. On the third day,
he will be raised to life and resurrect’d.

The sons of Zebedee, their mother, then,
to Jesus, with her sons, together, came,
and kneeling down, a favor asked of him.
What is it that you want?” he asked. She bade,
“Grant, in your kingdom, one of these two, that,
my sons may sit upon your right, your left,
and there the other, at, their proper rank.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking,” Jesus said
to them. “Can you drink the cup I will drink?”
“We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them,
“Indeed, you’ll drink from my cup, but to chose
who sits at my right, left is not for me
to grant. These places, they belong to those
for whom my Father, has prepared, these seats.”

Indignant with the brothers, two, they were,
the ten, when all about this, they had heard.
Together, Jesus called them and he said,

“You know the rulers of the Gentiles, that
they lord it over them, they exercise,
their high officials, their authority
o’er them. Not so with you, contrariwise,
whoever, great ‘mongst you, to be, aspires
must be your servant, and whoever yearns
to be first must become your slave–just like
the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and, as well, to give his life
for many as a ransom, sacrifice.”

As, leaving Jericho with his discip’es,
was Jesus, large crowds, followed, he’d acquired.
Two blind men, sitting, in the road, its side.
When they heard, Jesus, that he’d pass them by
in a short while, they shouted, this, they cried:

“Lord, Son of David, mercy, on us, show!”

The crowd rebuked them and them, they implored
to quiet, be, but all the louder, how
they shouted. “Mercy, have on us, O Lord,
the Son of David!” Jesus stopped, inquired
of them, “What do you want me to do for
you?” he asked. “Lord,” they said, “we want our sight.”
Compassion on them, Jesus had that more,
and touched their eyes. Immediately they
received their sight and followed him that day.

Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 19.13-30 (Little Children; The Rich and the Kingdom of God)

To Jesus, little children, people brought
for him to place his hands on them and pray
for them. But the disciples, them, they caught,
rebuking them. To them, what Jesus said,
“The little children, let them come to me,
don’t hinder them for it’s to such as these
that heaven’s kingdom’s ownership belongs.”
Then after he had placed his hands on them,
on, Jesus, from that place, is where he went.

Just then a man came up to Jesus, asked,
“What good thing, Teacher, so I may possess,
must I do for eternal life?” “Why do
you ask me ‘bout behaviors that are good?”
replying Jesus. “There is only One
who’s good. To enter life, if what you want,
keep the commandments.” He inquired, “Which ones?”

Replying Jesus, “‘Murder, you shall not,
adultery as well do not commit,
don’t steal nor, testimony false, e’er give,
your father, mother, honor, too, and love
your neighbor as yourself.” “All these I have
kept,” said the young man. “What do I still lack?”

Replying Jesus, “To, your life, perfect,
go, your possessions, sell, and, to the poor,
give, and, in heaven, treasures for you stored.
Then come, and follow me.” When, this, he heard,
the young man, sad, away, was how he went,
because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said
to his disciples, “Truly, I tell you,
it’s hard for someone, rich, to enter to
the kingdom, heaven’s. I again tell you,
to go, a camel, easier, what’s done,
a needle’s eye, through that, than for someone
to enter, kingdom, the, of God, who’s rich.”

Astonished greatly, when they heard of this,
were the disciples, and they asked of him,
“Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them
and said, “With man this is impossible,
but with God all things are made possible.”

Him, Peter answered, “We’ve left everything
to follow you! What will be for our gain?”

To them, said Jesus, “Truly, I tell you,
when, all things, at their time to be renewed,
when on his glor’ious throne, of Man, the Son
will sit, you, who have followed me, upon,
will sit, twelve thrones, and you will judge, as well,
of Is’rael, all her tribes that number twelve.
And anyone who, houses, brothers, left,
or sisters, father, mother, or their wife,
or children, fields, for my sake will receive
a hundred times back what it is they gave,
and life, eternal, an inheritance.
But many who are first will then be last,
and many who are last will then be first.”

Rhyming Redsong: Matthew 19.1-12 (The Pharisees Test Jesus About Divorce)

When, Jesus saying all these things, complete,
he, Galilee, left and did then proceed,
Judea’s region, to, was his design,
and, of the Jordan, to its other side.
Large crowds, him, followed and he healed them there.
Some Pharisees, to him, came to, him, snare.
They asked, ‘Is, lawful, it, for, to, a man,
divorce his wife for any and each one,
all different reasons?” “Haven’t you, that, read,”
replying Jesus, “the Creator ‘made
(at the beginning) both them female, male,’
and said, ‘For reason, this, a man forsakes
his father, mother and he, to his wife,
united, is, the two become one flesh.
So they’re no longer two, but just one flesh.
Therefore what God together he has joined,
let no one separate.” They asked, “Why then
did Moses, to his wife, a man, command,
to give her a divorce certificate,
and her, away, send.” “Moses did permit,”
replying Jesus, “to divorce your wives,
you, ‘cause your hearts were hard. Contrariwise,
creation, from, it’s not how it was like.
I tell you that whoever would divorce his wife
‘cept, sexual, for, immorality,
and marries someone else, adultery,
commits.” Disciples, the, said to him, “If
this is the situation, them betwixt,
a husband, wife, it’s better for them to
not ever marry.” Jesus’ words ensued,
“Who can accept this word? Not everyone,
but only those to whom it has been giv’n.
For there are eunuchs who were born that way,
and there are eunuchs who, by others, they
were made that way, and some who, for the sake
of heaven’s kingdom chose to live that way,
as eunuchs. Whoe’er can incorporate
these concepts should accept these words I say.”