Last summer, Grace Church in Arvada, Colorado, had a 10-week sermon series entitled “Storytellers.” The series focused on “life issues in our relationships, living our faith and studying the steps of Jesus.” The sermons were drawn from stories Jesus told as recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Luke and John. What made this sermon series unusual was the accompanying work done by artist Nicole Brown and poet Joel Jacobson.
Jacobson wrote a poem illustrating the core story or message for each of the sermons. He’s assembled them in a small book, Water the Mud. Each poem encapsulates both the story told by Jesus and a kind of application to issues in our lives, essentially applying what Jesus taught to what is familiar and understandable.
Here is how Jacobson tells the story of the laborers and their wages (Matthew 20:1-19) in “Smashed Grapes:”
That light rising
on the horizon,
the light that within weeks
fades hates, shirts, and
everything else you use
to protect against the sun,
that light is the sound of
those you never have time for.
Work is inevitable.
The inspired and the sloth
must punch the clock
on the docks fishing
in the vineyards picking
or simply sticking around
the town square waiting
for work to fall
like crumbs from a table.
The loudest grumbles come
from the men who worked
a full day, proudest
of having picked the most
and the best, convinced
that they deserve
more than the bums
who came in
at the last minute,
and, as if worthy,
gleaned a poem
from smashed grapes
and the waning minutes
of day.
Each of the 10 poems are like this, a kind of story that brings you, directly or indirectly, into the specific Bible text. In some cases, the poems explicate or deepen the understanding of the text. In others, the poems become a mediation on the text, helping the ease of applying the text to one’s life.
I liked what Jacobson did here. Water the Mud is a fine example of how poetry can aid our understanding of the teachings of the Bible.
Related:
The MP3 versions of the “Storytellers” sermons at Grace Church.
Joel Jacobson’s blog, A Poetic Matter.
The paperback and Kindle versions of Water the Mud.
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