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Jericho Roads: poems by Mark D. Stucky


















between Jericho and Jerusalem, image by nour tayeh, on unsplash



Jericho Roads


At the end of the rock-strewn road,

fell the walls surrounding Jericho.

Spared from destruction,

were a harlot’s people,

the family of Rahab,

Israel’s unlikely ally,

and unlikely ancestor

of peasants and kings

and the King of kings,

who came to save us all,

when our own walls fall

at the ends of our roads.


As Jesus walked the road,

leaving rebuilt Jericho,

a man who was blind

begged for mercy and sight.

Jesus healed his eyes

with love and kindness,

transforming

a beggar’s begging

into following

and praising.


In a parable Jesus told

of a lone sojourner

on that dusty road,

beaten and robbed,

left for dead,

but instead,

his life was saved,

not by religious men

coming from Jerusalem,

but by a despised Samaritan,

who showed mercy and love

where others provided none.

And for a stranger’s plight

he sacrificed to make things right.


Unlikely salvation

from unlikely sources

in unlikely places

for unlikely faces

may be found

on Jericho roads.




*




Tweeting the Truth in Love



We should be “speaking the truth in love,”*

posted Paul in Ephesians 4:15,

to speak and act out truth while filled

with self-sacrificial, unconditional love.


Not too-tough truth without compassion.

Not laissez-faire love without correction.


Certainly not rude comments

left on social media,

hidden from responsibility

by anonymity.


Certainly not tweeting lies with contempt,

insulting others with childish nicknames,

repeating falsehoods already debunked,

or disseminating self-serving distortions.


Paul didn’t excuse behavior so deplorable.

Why do so now?





*Note: Literally “truthing in love” in the Greek, incorporating both speech and actions.




____________________________




Mark D. Stucky has degrees in religious studies, pastoral ministry, and communications.

He has been a technical and freelance writer

for three decades. During his day job, he has documented diverse technical products, from satellite communications to building automation systems. In free time, he has written articles, stories, and poems on a variety of (usually

spiritual) topics. He has received over three

dozen writing and publication awards. For more writings, see cinemaspirit.info.












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