Pearl (5 page)

 ‘Although, with regard to righteous men,

  read what David wrote in the Psalter:

“Lord, never summon your servant to judgement,

  for not one person is worthy in your presence.”

  So when you come before the court

  where cases are called and heard in due course,

  even the righteous might be refused,

  for reasons recorded in those writings.

  But may Christ who died on the cruel cross,

  horribly pierced through His pale hands,

  set you free in that final trial,

  if not by right then by innocence.

 ‘You who righteously read the bible,

  remember this parable and heed its instruction:

  when Jesus passed among His people

  they brought their babes and bairns towards Him

  and humbly begged Him to hold their offspring,

  hoping for a touch of His happiness and health.

  His disciples lectured them: “Leave Him alone,”

  and warned the crowd with discouraging words.

  Then Jesus spoke, saying to them gently,

“Allow the little ones to come to their Lord,

  heaven is always ready to receive them.”

  So rightly the innocent shall always be saved.

‘C
hrist then called His dutiful disciples

 
to remind them none had the right to His realm

  unless they approached with the purity of children,

  otherwise they had no hope of entering.

  Faultless, honest and undefiled,

  not stained or shamed by corrupting sin:

  when the innocent knock and ask to come in

  the bolts of the gate shall be drawn back.

  And unending kinds of joy in that kingdom

  the jeweller pursues through his precious stone,

  selling linen and wool – his life’s work –

  to purchase an incomparable pearl.

‘This costly, incomparable pearl,

 for which the jeweller will sell his stock,

 is like the luminous empire of heaven –

 so says the Lord of land and seas.

 Flawless, fathomless, clean and clear,

 a sublime circle and endless sphere

 that belongs jointly to the just. It sits

 burnished and bright at the centre of my breast.

 My Lord the Lamb, who shed his blood,

 set it there as a symbol of peace.

 I suggest you forsake this insane world

 and purchase your incomparable pearl.'

‘Oh pure and incomparable pearl,

 bearer of the priceless pearl,' I said,

‘whoever fashioned your fine features

 and wove what you wear is a miracle worker.

 Your beauty was never derived from nature.

 Pygmalion failed to paint such a face,

 and not for all his letters and lectures

 could Aristotle tell of your attributes.

 Your pallor and complexion surpasses the lily,

 from every angle you are angel-like.

 Exquisite being, describe the position

 you command as an incomparable pearl.'

 ‘My peerless, incomparable Lamb,'

  she declared, ‘my dearest destiny and Lord;

  He beckoned me to become His bride,

  a match that many might find unfitting.

  When I departed your dismal world

  He brought me towards His blessedness.

“Come to me now, my beloved,” He called.

“There is no blame or blemish in your being.”

  He bestowed both strength and beauty on me,

  washed and cleansed my clothes in His blood,

  then crowned me a pure and virgin queen

  and cast me in incomparable pearls.'

‘Bright and incomparable bride,

 who enjoys such royal rank,' I replied.

‘What kind of lord or king is that Lamb

 to want to wed you as His wife?

 You scrambled and clambered and scaled the heights

 to sit at His side and be called His queen.

 Many beautiful women have slogged and slaved

 and suffered strife in the name of our Saviour,

 yet you brushed all rival brides aside,

 and chased away challengers to that marriage.

 You alone had the stamina and strength,

 impressive and incomparable pearl.'

T
hat incomparable pearl then spoke.

‘I am unblemished and without blame,

honours I hold with my head held high.

But “incomparable” I never implied.

The brides who live with our Lord in bliss

are a hundred and forty-four thousand strong,

as is written in the Book of Revelation.

Saint John saw them gathered together

on the hill of Sion, that sacred knoll,

and in the apostle’s dream they were dressed

for their wedding ceremony there on that summit,

in the city of new Jerusalem.

 ‘Telling the tale of Jerusalem

  sheds light on what our Lord is like,

  my Lamb, my blessed and beloved one,

  my joy, my bliss, my precious jewel.

  The compassionate prophet Isaiah in his sermon

  was moved to speak of His mild manner.

“That glorious, guiltless man was killed,

  nailed to a cross with no crime to His name.

  He was led to the slaughter like a sheep.

  And like the lamb in the shearer's hands

  He suffered the blades of blame in silence

  when judged by the Jews in Jerusalem.”

‘In Jerusalem my love was slain,

 His flesh pierced by pitiless yobs.

 Always willing to shoulder our woes

 He bore our crimes on His broad back.

 Brutal assaults and bitter blows

 left His beautiful features bloodied and bruised.

 For sinners He set His innocence aside

 though He Himself had never sinned.

 For us He was tortured, twisted and torn

 then stretched and broken across a beam.

 Compliant and uncomplaining as a lamb

 He laid down His life in Jerusalem.

 ‘Jerusalem, Jordan and Galilee

  were the places where John the Baptist preached,

  and his words agree with those of Isaiah.

  As Jesus walked to where John was standing

  the prophet made the following remark:

“The lamb of God is a steadfast stone,

  a solid rock to resist all wrong

  and bear the weight of the world's sins.

  Christ Himself committed no crime

  but owned the blame on our behalf.

  Who can account for his ancestry?

  He died for us in Jerusalem.”

‘In Jerusalem, then, my beloved Lord

 was twice depicted as a Lamb

 in the true chronicles of the two prophets

 because of His meek and mild demeanour.

 And a third example agrees thoroughly,

 as written clearly in Revelation.

 Around the throne where saints thronged

 the apostle John saw the Lord Jesus

 clearly opening the covers of a book

 with square leaves and seven seals.

 Each company, seeing that sight, bowed down,

 on earth, in hell and Jerusalem.

‘T
hat immaculate Lamb of Jerusalem

was whiter than white, covered in wool

  so brilliantly bright no blot or stain

  could cling to the coat and discolour the fleece.

  So every soul untainted by sin

  is a worthy wife to Christ our Lord,

  and no matter how many He welcomes in

  no tension or bitterness exists between us.

  In fact, let five times the number follow –

  the more the merrier, so bless me God.

  Among our exalted community

  our love becomes more and never less.

‘No one can lessen the blissful life

 of those who bear the pearl on their breast;

 we who are crowned with the flawless crest

 are incapable of feud or fight.

 And though our corpses decay in the clay

 and you cry with lament unremittingly,

 one hope above all stays alive in our hearts,

 that our souls are saved by a single death.

 The Lamb releases us from despair;

 guests at His table, we give our thanks

 for He offers intense joy to us all

 and no one's honour is ever made less.

 ‘Nevertheless, if you think me a liar,

 recall what these verses from Revelation reveal:

“I saw,” said Saint John, “on Sion's summit

  the Lamb of God in all His grandeur,

  with a host of a hundred thousand virgins

  and forty-four thousand more at His side.

  And the letters of the name of the Lamb were written

  across their foreheads, and His father's name too.

  Then out of the heavens I heard a shout

  like the roar of many rivers in flood,

  or thunder cannoning through black clouds –

  such a sound, I believe, and nothing less.

‘“As relentlessly as that cry rang out

   reverberating with vibrant voices,

   within that chorus came newer notes,

   pleasant to hear, peaceful on the ear.

   Like harpists strumming their stringed harps

   the sound of that song was sweet and clear,

   a melody of mellifluous words

   with harmonies that would melt the heart.

   There in front of the throne of God

   and the four obedient beasts at His feet

   and the aldermen with austere faces

   the singers were singing ceaselessly.

‘“Nevertheless, no singer ever known,

   no matter how able or practised in their art,

   could perform a single refrain of that song,

   except the chosen ones of His choir.

   Distant from earth, they are all redeemed,

   since the first of the fruit to fall shall be God's.

   Clean like Him in character and speech

   they unite with their noble Lord at the last,

   for no falsehood or untrue tale

   ever tainted their tongues, whatever their troubles.

   Nothing could part heaven's spotless household

   from their flawless Lord, or lessen their bond.”'

‘Lady, never think any less of my thanks,'

 I said, ‘if I keep on questioning my pearl.

 I am not worthy of challenging the wisdom

 of a bride chosen for Christ's chamber,

 nothing but a mix of dust and muck,

 and you such a rare and regal rose,

 abiding here on this beautiful bank

 where life's fruitfulness never fades.

 But from you, sincerity itself, I seek

 an honest answer to what I ask.

 I may be a crude and uncultured man,

 nevertheless let my question stand.

‘S
o unless you object, beautiful lady,

 
I call upon you, most courteously,

  as a person untouched by impurity,

  and pray my appeal will prompt a reply.

  Have you no castle, enclosed by walls,

  or manor house with meeting halls?

  You speak of Jerusalem’s sovereign lands

  where David ruled with great dignity,

  but Jerusalem is in Judea

  and not to be found in these forests nearby.

  Faultless underneath heaven, you deserve

  a fitting palace, equally flawless.

‘For this company of flawless creatures you describe,

 a great throng, thousands strong,

 there must exist a magnificent city

 to house you all and hold you safe.

 How unjust if such splendid jewels

 slept rough in the world without a roof,

 yet the length and breadth of this riverbank

 I see no buildings anywhere about.

 You stroll here alone alongside this stream

 and gaze at the gracefully running waters,

 but where do you stay? If a citadel stands,

 let me follow you to that flawless place.'