Stations of The Cross. Epilogue

                                     Meeting at Galilee

                                       John 21: 1-19

                             Beside the sea of Galilee

                             His new life now began.

                             Still wet from the swim ashore,

                             He crouched by the fire. As

                             Jesus fried their fish,

                             And shared out the bread.

                             They were happy, because

                             He was with them again.

                             And it had come out right.

                             They sat, eating, and laughing,

                             As the sun rose, golden and bright,

                             Into the morning light.

                  Then aside, as they walked along the beach,

                  He had asked him three time, to confirm

                  His love, each affirmation making it certain,

                  That his earlier denials were now forgiven

                 ‘Feed my sheep’, his lord had commanded.

                  Then smiling gently, he had foretold, that

                  When he was old, he would be led to a

                  Place, not of his choosing. Peter had known,

                  What that entailed – the long stony road,

                  That if prevailed, would end at his own cross.

                  Waking, he hears the cock crow, in the cold

                  Rome dawn, and he so weary and so old,

                  So far from home, never again to see

                  Or smell, the fresh cool breeze off Galilee.

                  He is ready, soon they will come for him.

    Image from Wikipedia Commons courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum

                               © D G Moody 2023