They had come from far, weary and woeful
From their long journey, to enjoy their feast 585
With pleasant food in the open fields.
Now, my dear friend, you can hear how the Healer,
The Guardian of glory, has offered us his love
Through all of his holy words and works.
His teaching has brought us untold joy. 590
He has invited us home to the gates of heaven
And the exultation of angels, where we may live
In his fond embrace forever, even after death,
Alive in the dwelling place of the Lord.”
Once again the Guardian of wind and wave, 595
The God on board unlocked his word-hoard.
The bold-hearted captain asked Andrew questions:
“Can you tell me, since I need to know the truth,
Whether the Lord openly performed miracles
Everywhere for people’s comfort and consolation, 600
Even where bishops, scholars, and elders sat
Studying sacred texts or deliberating in councils?
It seems to me that they plotted treachery
Out of malice or misjudgment, envy or error.
They were deaf to the Lord’s deliverance, 605
Hearing instead the teachings of the devil,
That treacherous traitor, that devious foe.
False fate misled those foolish men.
The devil’s deceit has left them floundering,
Wandering amiss, doomed to the death-road. 610
Now the cursed must live with the cursed.
They will find little comfort in the flaming embrace
Of the devil’s clutch in that cruel hell-hall
Where demons dwell, savaging men’s souls.”
Then Andrew offered the captain his answer: 615
“I’ll tell you truly—our Lord and Captain
Made miracle after miracle before the multitudes,
Before princes and people in plain sight.
He also secretly offered small wonders
Day and night to those who suffered distress, 620
As he went about working goodness and peace.”
The Protector of princes asked Andrew again:
“Can you tell me, bold-hearted hero,
Wise wayfarer, insightful traveler,
What the Lord richly revealed to you 625
In your private conversations with the Ruler of the heavens?
Can you put his miracles into plain words?”
Then Andrew answered his questioner again:
“Beloved sea-lord, mightiest of captains,
Why do you ask me these curious questions 630
When you know through your wisdom every truth?”
Then the Ruler of the world, the Guardian of waves,
Answered his hero, his holy warrior:
“I ask you these questions here on the whale-road
Not to rebuke or reproach you but to rejoice 635
Because my mind blooms in delight
With your wise words, your noble thoughts.
I’m not alone in this. Everyone who recalls
How the Son of God acted here on earth
Carries comfort in his heart. His spirit is hopeful, 640
Forever seeking its heavenly home,
The abode of angels, sailing away
To its heart’s haven with the loving Lord.”
Andrew immediately responded to the captain:
“I see in your answer understanding and wisdom, 645
Honesty and insight, a discerning truth—
A mindfulness alive and blooming endlessly
With knowing bliss. So I will tell you
The beginning and end since I was there,
Hearing him speak so often among us, 650
His devoted disciples and faithful followers.
Crowds often assembled to hear Christ’s counsel.
Multitudes gathered to listen to his teaching.
Then the Lord of lords, the Bearer of bliss,
Would bring his holy message to a house 655
Where many had come to hear him preach—
Wise elders and prudent counselors.
People rejoiced wherever he appeared,
Their hearts lifted by the Guardian of cities.
Once it happened that the triumphant Judge 660
Traveled with a small group of dedicated disciples,
Warriors of God. Only eleven were invited—
He was the twelfth. At last we came
To the great city where God’s temple was built,
A high and wide-gabled hall of the Lord. 665
It was breathtaking in its beauty, artfully adorned.
The high priest of the temple was full of malice
And began to mock and torment our Lord.
He unlocked his vile word-hoard, unleashing
His venomous speech. He knew in his heart 670
That we faithfully followed the path of the Lord,
The one righteous Ruler, but he raised his voice
In cruel calumny against him, saying:
‘Look, you are pitiful wretches, lost on the road,
Traveling in torment, trusting a foreign 675
Itinerant preacher whose unholy power
Is leading you astray. This man is a criminal,
A thief of the faithful, a poser and pauper,
Whom you proclaim a prince and the son of God.
We know where this ungodly imposter came from. 680
This “Lord” has an all-too-human lineage:
His mother is Mary, his father is Joseph,
His brothers are Simon and James. It’s clear
That this so-called son of God has worldly kin.
This holy man has a human family—he’s one of us!’ 685
Many power-hungry leaders of this land
Said as much—they wanted to conceal
The righteous truth of the living Lord.
Their evil lies persisted—their wicked ways
Came back to haunt them in a dreadful doom. 690
Then the Lord of mankind left that meeting-place
With his devoted disciples, his faithful thanes.
He sought a secret place in the wilderness,
Where he revealed to men with a radiant strength
The might and meaning of his holy miracles. 695
Then they knew that he was the righteous King,
Ruler of the universe, Guardian of glory,
The one eternal God of all creatures.
Then the Lord went to the temple a second time,
Where he stood and listened to the unholy rabble 700
Babbling about this and that in the great building.
Those sinners could not see his true nature
Or take in his teaching, even though he gave them
Evidence of his miracles, the truest of tokens.
He saw in the temple beautiful images of angels 705
Artfully sculpted on the gray walls of stone
And said to those gathered in God’s house:
‘These are images of the highest order of angels
In the heavenly city. These beings are called
Cherubim and Seraphim. They stand before God 710
In his infinite glory, singing praise-songs
To the power and majesty of heaven’s King.
These images, crafted by an inspired hand,
Are tokens of the beauty of the blessed beings.’
Then the Lord of hosts, the eternal Son, 715
The heavenly Spirit, spoke again:
‘Now I will make my message and meaning
Manifest to you, doubters and disbelievers,
By creating a miracle in God’s holy house,
Commanding this stone image to come down 720
From the walls to the ground to speak God’s truth,
Telling
you my parentage, revealing my true lineage,
So that men on earth may find a firmer faith.’
Then the stone image of the highest angel
Could not deny the Savior’s command 725
But leapt down to life, a wonder from the wall,
A speaking stone, a rock of revelation.
The angel began to breathe and speak
Before the gathered elders in resounding tones
With intelligence, understanding, and subtle wit, 730
Preaching to the priests, teaching the teachers,
Winding a web of wonder about the doubters,
Binding their unbelief, speaking these words:
‘You are faithless, joyless, miserable men,
Either ignorant or deceived in the throes of sin, 735
Trapped in the snares of your own dark thoughts.
Your minds are confused. You call God’s Son
A mere mortal—the one who created
Heaven and earth, land and sea,
Ocean and air, with his own hands. 740
He is the almighty God of the patriarchs,
Who bestowed his favor on Abraham and Isaac,
And also on Jacob. He gave them wealth,
Prosperity and honor, a place in his heart.
He revealed to Abraham his lordly lineage— 745
That from his seed should descend in time
The God of glory. That prophetic promise
Now stands before you, finally fulfilled.
Can you not see the God of victory now
Or know his power and presence from this sign? 750
How often do you listen to a speaking stone?
How often do you see the miracle of a man
Who is also the Lord? Open your eyes
And tell me if you can, what this mystery means.’
While the stone angel spoke, the men were silent, 755
But the sinful elders, who were deaf to the truth,
Said this was no miracle but some dark sorcery,
Some evil illusion or odious enchantment—
Said the riddle of the talking rock was unreal.
Then doubt came slithering into the hearers’ hearts, 760
Poisoning their minds, destroying their hopes,
So that the wicked worm that devours joy,
Left them hot with hatred, hungry with unhappiness,
Their spirits envenomed with mortal sin.
Those skeptics scoffed while their souls burned 765
With each blasphemy. They reviled the Lord
And revealed themselves. They mocked and scorned
The Son of God and moved toward doom.
Then the Lord commanded the sacred stone,
The wonder of speaking, the riddle of rock, 770
Into the streets to wander the wide ways
Over green fields and broad plains
To preach God’s news to the Canaanites,
And through the power of the greatest King
To command Abraham and his two sons 775
To rise up from their tombs, lift their limbs
From the grave, receive their separated souls,
Rejoice in their restored and youthful spirits,
And walk the wide world once again,
Alive from ancient days to make manifest 780
To the multitudes the great power of the God
That they had worshipped, his miracles and might.
So the strangest of angels, the rock of God,
Traveled far and wide, a radiance on the road,
As the Ruler had commanded, till it finally came 785
To the land of Mamre where the beloved bodies
Of the ancient patriarchs were secretly buried.
Then the angel of God ordered Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob to rise up from the dust,
Waking their bones from an earth-bound sleep, 790
To gather their spirits at God’s command,
To travel the land and talk to men and women,
Telling each of them who shaped the world
From the slate-blue sky to the succulent green earth,
Warning them not to delay in following the faith, 795
Fulfilling the commands, and working the will
Of the King of heaven, the Gatherer of glory.
So the three wise patriarchs, witnesses of wonder,
Walking miracles, went throughout the land
To testify to the true might and miracles of God, 800
As they had been resurrected from the grave,
The moldering earth-house, home of the dead,
And given new life to preach God’s glory.
When people heard the words of the once-dead
Patriarchs’ preaching, they were seized with terror. 805
This truth was more than many men could tolerate.
So the Shepherd of heaven called them home,
Not to ground or grave but to heaven’s glory,
Where he promised them peace and eternal joy.
Now, my dear young sea-captain, you’ve heard 810
Through the Lord’s words and wondrous works
The might and meaning of his great miracles,
How he revealed himself to multitudes of men
And how many were blind in heart and mind
To his truth and teaching. I know more stories 815
Of the Son’s holy and heroic deeds
Than you can begin to comprehend on this ship
For all your subtle craft and worldly wisdom.”
All day long Andrew praised the holy one
To the ship-captain till sleep crept over him, 820
And he lay down, dreaming of his dear Guardian,
As the craft sailed silently over the whale-road
With a holy warrior sleeping beside his Lord.
Then the generous Lord, the Giver of life,
Commanded his angels to transport Andrew 825
Above the surging sea, to carry with kindness
His sea-weary sailors in their arms’ embrace,
Safe and secure in their Father’s keeping.
On waves of wind they came at last
To the city which Andrew had earlier seen 830
Revealed by God. Then the angels departed,
Holy messengers, for their homeland in heaven,
Leaving the saint in a peaceful sleep,
Resting on the road under the sheltering sky,
In night-long dream near the city wall, 835
Near his evil enemies who dozed in hunger,
Those devouring devils—till at long-last
God lifted the candle of dawn, the day-sun,
To wake the world. Darkness disappeared,
Shadows slipped away, clouds drifted off, 840
Leaving the land in a fresh, clean light.
The torch of heaven touched each rooftop,
A warm wake-up for the homes of men.
Then God’s adamant warrior awoke,
Looking at the landscape by the city gates, 845
Where gray stone cliffs hovered like beasts
Looming darkly over human buildings
With their artful towers and colored tiles,
Their wind-swept walls. The wise warrior
Recognized at once that he had arrived 850
In Mermedonia, where the Father of mankind
Had called him before to his terrible task.
He saw his faithful followers asleep
On the hard ground and began to wake
His bold-hearted thanes, speaking these words: 855
“This is a true wonder worth telling—
Yesterday on the tide, a powerful Prince
Lifted us above the sea-surging waves,
Raising our ship like a bird on the wind.
The captain of that boat was Christ himself, 860
The Ruler and Redeemer, the Glory of kings.
I
recognized his holy words, his sacred speech,
Even though he disguised his divinity,
His holy power, in a sailor’s seafaring form.”
Then his young followers responded in kind, 865
Revealing their own spiritual mystery, saying:
“Andrew, we also want to tell you a wonder,
A riddle for you to unravel in your wisdom.
Sleep fell upon us, weary sailors at sea,
When over the surging waves, eagles arrived 870
In a gather of glory, an exultation of wings.
They lifted our souls as we slept and swept them up
In the joyous air, singing praise-songs,
Striding on the wind, the ethereal sea,
Surrounding our souls with majestic hymns, 875
Triumphant tones, holy harmonies,
Like an endlessly sweet symphony of seraphim.
We saw the Prince surrounded by angels,
A throng of thousands praising God,
The Lord of lords, with their celebrant songs, 880
While our souls rejoiced in the reverberant air.
We saw many martyrs and patriarchs there,
A zealous company rapt in glory,
Singing their hearts out to their triumphant Lord.
There was also David, a blessed champion, 885
King of the Israelites, son of Jesse,
A powerful ruler in the presence of Christ.
We saw all of you standing with God’s Son,
Endowed with virtue, radiant with grace,
Twelve triumphant heroes together, 890
Surrounded by exalted, shining archangels,
Serving and sustaining the holy apostles.
There the blessed ones will drink delight
In the harmony of heaven, the heart’s homeland,
Where peace is palpable, the soul is sustained, 895
And sorrow and strife are ever unrife.
Some will find joy in that holy haven;
Others will find torment and terror abounding
In a hall of flames, when banished from bliss,
They travel on life’s last unending road.” 900
Then the saint’s heart was gladdened in his breast
When he heard that God would grant the apostles
Esteem and honor, the gift of grace.
So the wise protector of the bold-hearted
Warrior-band spoke these words: 905
“My Lord and God, the Glory of kings,
I see now you were never far from me,
Steering our ship over the ocean waves,
Though I was blind then to your bright divinity.
Prince of angels, Sustainer of spirits, 910
Radiant King, be merciful to me in Mermedonia.
I spoke so eagerly on our seafaring voyage—
Now I know who carried me across
The surging sea, holding the heft of wood
The Complete Old English Poems Page 30
