Invocation / Grove

Invocation

Praise to the triune deity who sought
In pure love unrequited to remove
The scarlet stains by which our lives became
Entangled, trapped and bound in Hell’s long night;
You wrought in Christ by three days for our souls
Redemption for mere mortals, love unbound
Rivers of grace which flow from Heaven’s throne
To enter human hearts; so humankind
Is pardoned of its sins and given back
Lost innocence of Eden’s virgin days
And strength to crush the wicked serpent’s head
And free us from the consequence of sin.
Inspire and speak to those who know you not
Or those who deign to speak your name yet care
Not how they speak it, mindless of their acts
And ignorant of consequences that
Which now by grace are softened and becalmed.
Speak mercy, love and overflowing peace
Into the troubled souls who know you not
And by your actions glorify your name
Until all nations worship at your feet.

Grove

Into the garden, desolate and bare
The pathways paved with stones and prickly thorns
The night air chill, and overhead the moon
Its ghostly pallour, dour reflection
Of that great orb which gives the daylight hours
Sheds mournfully its beam so sinister
That fills the soul with dire imaginings.
For in the night, Gethsemane becomes
The haunt of serpents, jackals, dogs and owls
That fills the air with sounds that terrify.
Fierce shrieks and howls and barks from every side
And hissing from below, yet Christ knows not
Which shrub, bush, hedge or tree gives shelter and
Protection from the creeping reptile or
The bird of prey by which, with wings outstretched
And talons to the fore, comes swooping down
To hunt, capture and then devour its prey.
Bleak grove is this which shatters memories
Of celebration, fellowship and joy
In upper room, in which the Son of Man
By priestly action took the bread and wine,
The sacred elements of his by which
Death would pass over sinful mortal souls
Who, drawn to Him, when lifted up on high
With penitential love and homage sweet
Proclaim his Lordship over their bruised lives
And find eternal healing of their souls
Cleansed by his broken body and his blood
So mercilessly broken and outpoured.
The cup of wine, the fruitful taste is now
The foretaste bittersweet of passion cruel,
So soon to be the cup of searing pain
By which all humankind would be redeemed.
Such celebrations are a faded blur
The saviour, with soul mournful and beset
With sorrow deep and heaviness of heart
Addressed his close companions with these words:
“Black is the night, and darkness now surrounds
My thoughts, for troubles bleak and doleful now
Invade my very mind, which once was clear
And full of meditation of the place
In which I once sat at my Father’s side,
At his right hand in Heaven pure and true.
The glorious worship sounds that rang throughout
The Kingdom’s vast unlimited domain
Are but a distant memory, for now
Sheer blackness is my sole companion
The hour of shadows is approaching fast
For sorrow weighs so heavy on my heart
And I must be alone now, wait awhile.”
His followers stumbled to make reply
To his sad discourse, but so found themselves struck dumb, their minds devoid of loving words
By which the Lamb of God might be disposed
To comfort, strength of purpose and resolve.
In helplessness, they sat upon the ground
And tried to keep a watch, a vigil true.
The Lamb of God trod wearily along
The rough uneven path beset with stones
And briars rough and nettles stinging sharp
Until a rock before Him gave a sort
Of place of prayer, before which He now knelt.
Beseeching Yahweh God, his Father true,
The Blessed Lamb addressed Him with these words:
“O Abba true, my Father dear, your Son
Upon this journey that He chose to make
His very soul with troubles is beset
And agonies so bitter drag him down
To unimaginable fearful depths.
I cannot see the glory that was once
The joyous sight of perfect souls that sing
Your righteous praises, perfect ringing songs
That you inhabit, bringing light and truth.
The worship, prayer and incense that spreads forth
Its perfume sweet and fragrant, happy state.
But in this grove of olives, sadness reigns
The chill of night surrounds my doleful heart.
And now a bitter chalice is before
My lips, of sour vinegar that I
Must now partake, in order to appease
Your wrath divine against the sin of those
Who turn their backs on your mercy and love,
Refusing to accept the true rewards
That hope in you will turn their hearts of stone
And make them hearts of flesh with praises filled
That sing of your salvation for the world.
I am distraught with what will now befall
Me in this hour of shadows, let this cup
Be taken from me now, nevertheless
Not my will but yours, Abba, now be done”.
The Lamb of God, upon His seeing how
His disciples, weary and sleeping sure,
Pronounced in tones both slow and sorrowful:
“Brethren, e’en though the night hastens long rest
From daylight’s celebrations true and good,
Could not you, for one brief reflective hour,
Watch with me in my time of sorest need
And keep the small hours prayerfully awake?
How heavy are your eyelids, gentle souls
Could not some measure of restraint from sleep
Be kept, your company I value much.
Be careful friends, be steadfast, watch and pray
To keep your souls from Satan’s rueful wiles.
Take care, for human weakness often rules
Over willingness of the human heart.”
The Lamb of God a second time went forth
And to the rock knelt down and prayed aloud
To His pure Father of the Heavenly realm:
“O Abba true, my Father dear, your Son
My flock are weak from human endeavour
From the great feast which saved your chosen race
From Egypt’s rule of tyranny and strife,
From Pharoah’s stubborn will and heart of stone.
The ten plagues that you sent made him relent
Yet sent he out his army to pursue
The Israelites and capture them to make
Them slaves once more to his vile tyranny.
Blessed Sea of Reeds that opened wide upon
Moses’ upraising of his staff by which
At your command the sea to right and left
Was driven back to let your people pass
On dry ground safely to the other side
Then once again at your command the sea
From Moses’ staff outstretched to bring the walls
Together back to swallow up the force
Of Pharoah’s army, routed in the depths
And washed up drowned and lifeless on the shore
To give you and your people victory.
What victory will you give me, your Son
What sweetness will you give to me to taste?
Fruit of the vine, fresh clusters of sweet grapes
Poured into Cana’s jars, the miracle
Of heavenly vintage, purest and the best?
My portion is the cup of pain and death
The bitter gall to dull the pain of flesh
Torn, pulled and ripped and bleeding without end.
Let this cup pass from me, nevertheless
Your will, not mine, be done for evermore.”
From prayer intense the holy Lamb of God
Arose and went to His disciples who
Their slumber kept, their watch abandoned sure
Heavy their eyes and dull their weary minds
That kept them from the sight of Him who came
To counsel and reprove their lack of strength
Succumbing once again to hardened sleep.
The Lamb of God a third time went away
To kneel and pray beside the rock that served
As place of prayer, an altar upon which
The sacrifice of words to Heaven soared
In hope of answer favourable which
Might remove the fearful agonies to come
Which were foretold by prophets long ago.
From his dry lips, the prayer was uttered forth:
“O Abba true, my Father dear, your Son
As night grows darker, a fear so dreadful
Has gripped the depths of my poor soul in that
I cannot bear to carry out your will.
And blackest night pervades my mind forlorn.
My friends are weary, they can offer no
Support or help in this my darkest hour,
The hour of shadows that blots out all light
To keep me prisoner in the deepest pit
Of sorrow, pain and torture of the mind.
Where can I go to rid me of this fear?
Where can I flee to escape from the chains
That bind me fast, and fetter me secure
And keep all thoughts of inward hope in being
Released from mental dungeon? Help me now!
Come to my aid, O Abba, Father pure,
Mine is the torment that for humankind
I must this day be punished for the sin
Which forms a barrier and chasm deep
That keeps them far removed from your pure love.
Wretched am I, tormented and alone
Already now, the agonies which I
Must undergo are close to me, I feel
In my torn mind the lash, the mockery,
The piercing nails and thorns that sear my flesh
To pieces with eternal agony.
Mine was the choice, in pure obedience
To your just will to save the human race
In every age, past, present and to come.
My strength is gone, send me your aid so that
I may partake of this most bitter cup.
I had twice asked if this cup could be took
Far from my lips, yet not my will but yours
Be done. My prayer is ended, glorified
Be you in me, I rise to drink my fill.”
By royal ordinance, appeared to Him
One of the angelic host to strengthen and
Renew the weakened Lamb to pray much more
In earnestness of heart and mind and soul.
In praying thus, the Lamb of God in sweat
Was deluged, as if great red drops of blood
Had poured down from his brow, a symbol of
The shedding of his real and kingly blood
By which the scarlet stains of sinful men
And women would be washed and wiped away.
The prayer now finished, and with strength renewed
Jesus, the Lamb of God, arose once more
To greet his friends who still their slumbers kept
Dead to the world, yet living in their dreams
Blissfully unaware of the events
That were to come and prove their weaknesses
In ignorance of true discipleship
And faithfulness unto the Lamb of God
In this His hour of darkest, direst need.
“Awake awake, why are you sleeping still?
Still tempted are you to stay in your dreams,
To disobey the simplest of commands
To keep a simple watch in this my hour
Of darkest need, where shadows haunt my mind
And give no rest, and yet you slumber still?
The tempter whispers soporific lies
And feigns to soothe your thoughts with restfulness
To leave me in my forlorn, lonely state
As victim to his darts of vengefulness.
Awake awake, attend me for here comes
The one who left our supper to betray
Me into sinful, brutal, hardened hands!”