Chestnuts in Kowloon

Chestnuts in Kowloon

I have been to the Fragrant Harbor
far away,
where the people sounded like rain
upon the cobblestones,
and their laughter I called my own,
for once, for a little while
I was there

with you as we walked
past market stalls with the cackle
of hagglers
and scents of sesame and jasmine
filled the air,
we climbed tall buildings
and the peak of a mountain,
I was there

with you as we crossed the harbor
along with salt and seaweed,
by noon we reached Kowloon
famished,
and we shared a paper bag
filled with roasted chestnuts:
there by the lotus pond,
the moist white warmth and our dreams
fed our nameless hunger —

now the Fragrant Harbor awaits
far away,
but I am no longer there,
save the shriveled husks of chestnuts
we threw away so long ago
that for once, for a little while
burned among the coals.

by D. G. V. © 2012

Last Days of Summer


Last Days of Summer

Lemon scents linger
from blooms of white magnolia,
while a cool breeze tiptoes,
donned in ornate lace
into a summer dusk cathedral:
I hear the mellow sound of shaken leaves
upon their sun-tanned branches,
harp strings stroked by fingers
of the wind —

The purple grosbeak’s song endures
into the night,
nectared notes delight
as I revel in these ardent days
of crimson apples,
the primrose pulp of aubergine plums,
the musk-white fragrance of orange
blossoms,
the golden cloak of summer’s warmth
upon the vibrant flowers.

by D. G. V. © 2012

** photography by Roman Niku

Persecution, Followers, and Stalkers

“And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.” Mark 12:13

Since the inception of the Christian Church, mankind has witnessed the blood of martyrs  splattered across the pages of history.  And although manifested in different forms, Christian persecution persists to this very day: across continents, within countries, in communities, at places of work, within families.  How and when did the persecution begin?

It began with Jesus Christ.  He died a violent death, put to death on the cross.  Why? Because he proclaimed that he was the Son of God, that he was the fulfillment of biblical prophecy, and that he was the Way, the Truth, and the Life. These were his very words, as witnessed by his apostles, his disciples, and as documented by four separate Gospel writers.

Some of those who heard him may have said: “how brazen, what gall.”  The scribes and Pharisees in particular were beside themselves.  They rent their clothes. They screamed. They plotted. They got their pound of flesh. They were not followers, but stalkers, trying to catch Jesus in His words, doubting Him from the very start, and at every turn.

But Jesus Christ had followers, and his followers believed in Him. They believed His words, His teachings, and the things He said about Himself. No one comes to the Father except through Him. They cling to this as truth.

How insensitive this view is towards other religions. How politically and sociologically incorrect! Who is this Christ, this carpenter that compels a person to leave everything and follow Him? What sheer madness.  Emperors got riled that their subjects adored this Christ, this carpenter, above them.  The world is irritated at their peculiar behavior, at the light in their hearts and in their eyes, their faces shining with joy. So the powers fed Christ’s followers to the lions, led them to their deaths at the hands of gladiators. They stoned them and spat upon them.  And some they crucified.

Christ polarizes people.  Either His claims about Himself were those of a lunatic, or His words are truth.  He requires total commitment.  Either you believe in Him, or doubt His words.  Either you are a follower, a stalker, or something else.

And if a follower, then at this very moment, you share in the fellowship of His sufferings. You become a target for persecution.

By D.G. Vachal © 2012

*** posted at Narita airport, en route to somewhere in Asia

Is Christ The One Or Shall We Look for Another?


“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”  Matthew 11:3

 Of the most vital and central importance in our earthly existence is our concept of who Jesus Christ is. When John the Baptist sent his followers directly to Christ to confront him about who he was, they in fact asked a crucial and pivotal question: “Are you the Savior of the world, or shall we look for another?”

In spite of his physical and mental depression while he was in prison, John the Baptist did the right thing when he told his disciples to go at once to Jesus, to ask and see for themselves. In the same manner, we can go to the Gospels and consider Jesus Christ, his words, his miracles, his death on the cross, his resurrection from the dead, to see for ourselves whether we find our answer in Him, or keep on searching.  And as we read the Bible, let us analyze and discover whether we come to recognize, as Martin Luther did, that “Christ is the key to Scripture”, that “everything must be understood in relation to Christ” (1).

 The message of the gospel is the person of Jesus Christ Himself, and the astounding claim that He is the Son of God who came into this world and dwelt among us, and that there is “no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12).

“He is central, he is first, and if we are wrong about him, it does not make any difference, even if we are right everywhere else.” (2)

Part of the difficulties we confront about the person of Jesus Christ are aspects which cannot be understood in terms of abstract or philosophical reasoning.  And if what the Bible tells us about him is true, then it transcends human intellect and comprehension.  It comes to us as a revelation, an announcement of good news in a world beset with problems, sin, misery and death.

Hence, instead of trying to grasp, reason out and span the “infinities and the immensities” about what and who Christ is, let us be guided by what John the Baptist advised his followers: just go to Him, confront Him and learn about the many aspects to His nature and character as portrayed in each of the Gospels. We look at Him in the Bible, speak to Him in prayer, and consider the testimonies of other Christians.  And when we do this, it may well be that we shall arrive at the same conclusion that many others in a similar quest have come before us:

They have considered Jesus and made the decision to look to no other: Jesus Christ is the incomparable One, the Son of God, the Savior and Light of the World, the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Footnotes:
(1) Lectures on Romans in vol. 25 of Luther’s Works (1515; ET Concordia, 1972); Gloss on Rom. 1:5 (p.4)
(2) Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Heart of the Gospel, Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1991, p. 13

References:
Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Heart of the Gospel, Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois,1991, pp. 11-25
John Stott, The Incomparable Christ, Intervarsity Press, Downer’s Grove, Illinois, pp. 15-42

*** Image courtesy of firepress

The Tea Cup of Today

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”  Psalm 118:24

 In the midst of a frenzied afternoon at work today, I paused to read an email from my daughter Amy:

“I’ve been thinking about this quote a lot lately:  “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”  The last two words, “in it”, are what have me thinking. The phrase makes it seem like it’s a special place – a porcelain cup, specially made, specially prepared – to rejoice, to revel, to live fully in — when you are in something like a cup of tea, surrounded.”

Any given second, any given breath, we are within the walls of a day. We can’t see tomorrow – and so we can only treat it with what we can’t see – with hope (but how great is our hope when we think about Jesus)? We see only today, and our hands, and our feet, and our loved ones, and whatever else God has given us for today. “

What Amy wanted to tell me is that today is not only a special time, but a unique and wondrous place designed by God for us to live and breathe in.

The porcelain tea cup of today.

I smile at the thought of today and of pink porcelain cups.

by D. G. V.

*** Author’s Note: this link leads to a poem I wrote for my daughter Amy.