Meeting Jack

Meeting Jack

Some angel, I know not her or him
Along with my darling Laura guided

We hiked as it were
Yet without strain or aches,
We traveled and chatted
Through ancient woods and hills

The two of them contagiously talked of our destination
‘Him’ this and ‘him’ that
Oh how many have come to him
And oh what a rare saint he is,
Mainly though we discussed the King
His splendor and His beauty seen in the large woods
Illumined by his glory

As our journey took us to a valley of meadows
It began to snow
It snowed, yet with no chilling bite
And the vegetation in the meadow seemed to glow
Rather than wither from the snow

As we peaked over an opening in the high woods
We saw some cottages arrayed through the valley,
We approached one house
Nothing special, barely visible within the countryside
Upon the front door looked to be a word etched in white stone
I could not read it- and therefore determined
That it must be the resident’s name,
For such is the practice of the King

The thick, heavy, wooden door creaked as we opened,
Immediately I was struck by the odor of tobacco smoke
Laura and the angel just laughed
Oh yes, Jack enjoys his pipe;
The house was filled to the brim with books
Books covered the walls and
Books sporadically about the cottage,
We followed a deep Irish-English chuckle into a small den
One could not help but smile at his sight
He wear a brown tweed jacket with burnt holes in the chest pocket
His tobacco pipe dangled from the corner of his mouth
He had soft features and wear reading glasses
He was a mixture of Santa, Professor, dignitary and grandpa
A rather homely smile
A booming voice
And mysteriously gracious eyes;

Shaking from chuckles he said
“Hello Matthew I have been waiting for you,
Take a seat; I have much to tell you.”
As I sat in front what appeared to be a giant timber stump
Manufactured into a desk, which of course was covered with books,
I looked behind him and saw hanging on his wall
I photo of a crazy Scot’s man,
The man in the photo had a long beard
And looked like a eccentric hermit,
Jack noticed my noticing the photo
“Ay, Saint MacDonald” he said smiling,
“That is why you are here, that is to say my resting place,
The Great Scot was somewhat of a guide of the King for me
And by grace for me to you,
Understand so far?”
I speechlessly shook my head
Terrorized with pounding joy,
I must say that I’d always been rather intimidated
Yes, intimidated by such learned brilliance and wisdom
However, since the King’s embrace upon my judgment
I had not been more elated,
Elation is constant in the Kingdom
But still with its marvelous variations

“You see Matthew there is work to be done
Yes, most humans are buffoons
With their images of winged harp players and so on,
Who can now image floating harpist?”
He chuckled at his own question
Yet, with look of intensity,
“You have been assigned to me for the time being
Yes, as you predicted you are not the first to come to me,
My job is only to help you at the beginning
At the foot-hills
The mountain peaks of your work will come later.”
I was rather confused, and bewildered
I wanted to ask him if we were going to do more hiking
But I knew that was not the case.
“Lad, you are witty and deep
But not always that quick,
You were created, designed and fashioned
For one job, that only you can do
And this job is to ultimately bring the King his glory
Yes, you think earth should have been this way
But this was not the will of the Father
Oh, you think that is rather Augustinian or Calvinistic of me
Especially coming from a non-Reformed Anglican,
Such is done away with here,
Not to say that one’s theology will not affect his state
But the point is, that is not what happened
And the Father is in control, outside of what was time.”
So, I have a job to do
And you are going to help me?
“Ha, ha, Yes, you were always quick to the gun
Never waiting till the last moment for anything,
Alright, the thing is, that I will never know exactly what your job is
That is a part of what makes it uniquely yours
However, I am here to help you get started
And not just I, but I must introduce you to others,
Others who have shaped you and who have similar jobs as you
Yes, we shall meet them and dine with them
Milton, Edwards, Bonhoeffer, Piper, Schaeffer and many, many others
You will meet some who will be of great help
Though you never heard of them on earth
Some of the Greek ministers will be of great assistance to you
People you thought would be foes on earth will help you together
Yes, your job is precisely and specifically suited for you
It is what you were created for
And once you begin to walk in your work
You will find fulfillment that you did not know existed;
The unique way you observe
The unique way you think and love
And write and care
Yes, all of these will be finalized
In what was only their potential,
You will always have community
And you will always be able to explore the Kingdom
But your job is yours
And this is what the King delights in
He knows that we delight in it,
So, let us get started
The joy of eternity waits.