The Complete Old English Poems
Page 37
They have neither faith nor foresight, and follow
Neither God’s will nor the wisdom of prophets.
Unlike the wearied oxen, those beasts of burden, 365
Goaded and whipped, who recognize the lord
Who gives them fodder and find him a friend,
The people of Israel have derided my prophecies,
Laughed at my learning, mocked the meaning
Of my wondrous visions, my deepest dreams, 370
Even though I have worked many miracles
For the children of men during all my days.’
Now we have heard through the sacred scriptures
That God gave you an unblemished glory,
An abundance of grace, prosperity and power, 375
Telling Moses how you were to follow the law
And obey the commandments of the King of heaven—
But soon that became irritating to you,
So you began to grumble and complain,
Denying your duty, rebelling outrageously 380
Against your Ruler, rejecting the Creator,
Your own Maker, the Lord of lords.
You traded holiness for heresy, truth for lies.
Now go quickly to your scholars and counselors,
Those wise ones who know best your law and lore, 385
The ancient mysteries and meanings of scriptures.
From their deep understanding, let them answer me.”
Then the proud-hearted, sad-spirited multitude
Went away as the queen had commanded.
Afterwards they found five hundred wise men 390
Who understood the scriptures, summoning these
Scholars and sages to the royal palace.
The queen saw them standing there and said:
“You are foolish men of little faith,
Miserable outcasts, exiles from the Lord, 395
Denying the scriptures, despising the teachings
Of your ancient fathers, never more than now,
When you cast off the cure for your own blindness,
Rejecting righteousness, denying the truth—
That the Son of God was born in Bethlehem, 400
The only-begotten King, the Lord of lords.
You studied the sayings of the ancient prophets,
Knew the law, yet still you could not see
The truth revealed with your blind eyes.”
The sinners replied with a single voice: 405
“We learned in the past from the ark of God
The Hebrew laws which our fathers left us,
And we cannot comprehend why a proud queen
Should be so angry with us. We are not aware
Of breaking any holy law or of any crime 410
We’ve committed against you or your people.”
Helena answered the unthinking hosts,
Her words ringing out over the crowd:
“Go quickly again to discover more perceptive men
Who can read the scripture with spiritual eyes, 415
Make meaning of the mysteries hidden within,
So that they can skillfully answer my questions.”
Then the unwise, sad-minded ones left the council,
As the mighty queen commanded, a woman well known
For her strength in the cities. Dejected and downcast, 420
They struggled to discover what terrible sin
They might have committed against the emperor.
Then one spoke up who was wise in mind,
Skilled in speech, whose name was Judas:
“I know well the wonder that the queen wants— 425
The tree of victory on which the Savior suffered,
The sinless Lord of life, the guiltless Son of God,
Whom our fathers hung in their deep hatred
On that grim gallows, that high tree.
That was a brutal plan, a savage deed. 430
We must not become informers about that murder
Or reveal the rood’s grave, its hiding place,
Lest our ancient scriptures be overturned,
And the wisdom of our fathers be forsaken.
If people learn of this, then our place and power, 435
Our revered religion, and the lineage of Israel
Will be in jeopardy as the Jews will all be judged.
As my famous grandfather, the prophet Zachaeus,
Once said to my father, whose name was Simon,
And my father repeated to me on his death bed: 440
‘If in your lifetime, you hear men asking
About the holy tree, the gallows of God,
And raising questions about the cross of victory
On which the Lord died, the Guardian of heaven,
The Child of peace, the people’s Champion, 445
Then speak forth directly my dear son
Before you die. After that dark moment,
The people of the Hebrews will lose their power
To govern and rule in age after age.
But the power and glory of those who believe, 450
Who praise and honor the crucified King,
Will live on earth forever and ever.’
I boldly answered my failing father,
A scholar who knew the laws and scriptures:
‘How did it come about that our wise ancestors 455
With hateful hearts and evil purpose
Laid murderous hands on that holy man
To scourge and torment him, torture and crucify him,
If they knew then that he was the Son of God,
The living Christ, the Savior of souls?’ 460
Then my wise father replied to my question:
‘Think about God’s impenetrable power,
His wondrous wisdom, his might and mystery,
And the unknowable name of the righteous Redeemer,
The Son and Savior. His mind cannot be measured, 465
His purpose understood, his glory grasped
By any earthly being. We were blind to the truth.
I resisted the pernicious plotting of our people,
Refused to take part in their sinful scheming,
Their unconscionable crime. I kept clear 470
Of that savage sin which would shame my soul.
I opposed that injustice, abhorred that iniquity,
When the assembly of elders conspired together,
Planning how they might crucify the Son of God,
The Shield of mankind, the Lord of angels, 475
The Protector of people and all of mankind.
Our unholy leaders, those unwise schemers,
Were sinful and stupid: they thought they could kill
The living Lord. They could not deal out death
To the divine Creator, torture him into turning 480
Away from his task, tear him from life,
Though after a while on the hallowed cross,
He sent his spirit forth, giving up the ghost
On the gallows-tree. Then God’s victorious Son,
The Lord of heaven, the Glory of all glories, 485
Was carried from the cross and kept in a cave,
A holy sepulcher, a tomb of darkness,
For three days—after which he rose from the dead,
The Light of all light, the Prince of angels,
The Lord of victory, Protector of men, 490
Revealing himself in radiant splendor
To his holy servants, his devoted disciples.
Later your brother came into the bright
Life of the Lord, being bathed in the holy
Baptismal waters. He found his Savior 495
And followed the faith. For his love of the Lord,
Stephen was stoned. He did not return
Evil for evil but prayed for his enemies,
The patient one interceding for all of them,
Asking that the Almighty, the King of glory, 500
Might visit mercy instead of vengeance
On those who maliciously murdered a man
Who was entirely innocent, sinless in his soul,
After the teaching and practice of Saul,
Who condemned so many of Christ’s followers 505
To an unfair trial, an unjust execution.
Yet God showed mercy afterwards to Saul,
Who became Saint Paul after his conversion.
He brought comfort and consolation to many.
The Lord of life, the God of creation, 510
Redeemed that recreant and named him anew.
There has never been a truer teacher of the law
Among all men and women brought forth
Under the curve and canopy of God’s heaven,
Though he earlier caused your brother Stephen 515
To be brutally stoned to death on the mountain.
Now you see, my son, how we can find God’s mercy,
His loving compassion, even though we commit
Crimes against him, wounding him with our sins,
If we repent our evil deeds, make amends, 520
And cease sinning. Realizing all of this,
My own dear father and I afterwards believed
That the Lord of life, the God of glories
Had suffered cruel torment on the cross
And died for mankind’s great need. 525
In this way the Ruler of heaven redeemed us.
So I urge you, dear son, through this secret truth,
This divine mystery, never to mock
The Son of God, revile your Redeemer,
Or deny his divine power and purpose 530
In this fallen world. Always have faith
And ask for mercy. Then you will earn
The richest reward granted by God,
Eternal life and a home in heaven.’
My father Simon taught me this truth 535
When I was a boy. He had studied and suffered,
Learning from books and growing wise with grief.
Now that I have opened my heart to your hearing,
You should certainly know what is best to reveal
To that great queen about the rood and Redeemer.” 540
Then the wisest of those listening to Judas said:
“We have never heard anyone among our people
Speak openly about these secret mysteries.
You’ve studied the learning and know the lore;
You’ve lived with your father’s and his father’s words. 545
Say what you believe to be true when the queen
Questions you before the council of wise ones.
You will need great knowledge and understanding,
A politic awareness of the nature of power,
A worldly wisdom, a spiritual shrewdness, 550
When you offer your answers to the noble queen,
Who will gather us all in a conclave before her.”
Then words flew as men hotly debated.
Some believed this, others believed that.
They deliberated and discussed all these ideas, 555
Ruminating on them over and over again.
Then the emperor’s messengers arrived, announcing:
“The queen commands you to come to court
To report the results of your council’s findings.
Your knowledge and wisdom are sorely needed.” 560
The sad-hearted, sober-minded elders were prepared
When the summons came from the queen’s palace.
They arrived in court to offer the craft and power
Of their great learning. Then the queen began
To address the sages, hold forth with the Hebrews. 565
She questioned the soul-weary, wise men
About the ancient scriptures, how their prophets,
Holy in spirit, shrewd in mind, canny in vision,
Sang their secret stories of the Son of God,
And how he suffered for the sins of mankind 570
For the sake of our souls. The Hebrew hearts
Were harder than stone. They refused to reveal
Any secret mystery to be found in the scriptures
Or offer any answer about the Son of God.
They claimed to know nothing of this matter. 575
Then Queen Helena, herself hard with anger,
Spoke to the gathering of great minds:
“Let me speak plainly and promise you here
That upon my life I will not lie to you:
If you continue to dissemble and deceive us, 580
Weaving such a web of wicked lies,
You will find a fierce fire here on this hill,
Blazing your bodies, flaming your flesh,
Blackening your bones, consuming your corpses.
The reward for deceit will be a slow death. 585
You may not affirm our reading of the scriptures
Or reveal the hidden prophecies of the Son,
Which you have hidden so long in a veil of shame,
But you will never be able to conceal this mystery,
This sacred and profound wonder, from the world.” 590
Then under the death-threat, the wise ones relented—
They had no desire to dispute with fire.
They admitted that Judas knew the secret meanings
Of the scriptures and handed him to the queen, saying:
“Here is one among us who can reveal the truth, 595
Who knows the secret mysteries of law and lore,
Who can unravel the riddle from beginning to end
And answer all your compelling questions.
He is noble in lineage, discriminating in speech,
The son of a prophet, skilled in discourse. 600
He was born with the gift of second sight;
He has in his heart wise answers.
He is a truth-seeker, an unraveler of mysteries.
He can give you the gift of sacred wisdom
That your heart so deeply and earnestly desires.” 605
Then Helena sent each of the Hebrews home
Except for Judas, whom she kept as hostage.
She commanded him to tell her the truth
About the cross of Christ, which had been hidden
For so long in a secret grave, saying to him: 610
“We have now come to a crossroad—
One way leads to life, one way to death.
Make a choice to fix your fate.”
Judas could not escape his anguish
Or set aside his sorrow. His fate was fixed— 615
He was caught by the queen. So he said:
“How can a man who wanders a wasteland,
Wearied by the world, oppressed by hunger,
Famished for food, who suddenly sees
Two choices before him, bread and a rock— 620
One hard, one soft—pick up the stone
Instead of the loaf, rejecting something
That would relieve his hunger, sustain his life,
And walk like a wraith on down the road?”
Then the blessed Helena answered him honestly, 625
Saying to him plainly before the people:
“If you want to have a blissful home in heaven
With the radiant angels, a victorious reward,
And a long life on earth, tell me the truth now:
Where does the cross of Christ, the King of heaven, 630
Rest secretly, that sacred rood under the soil,
The gallows-tree you have shamefully hidden
From mankind because of your murderous evil?”
Judas had a tortured heart, a troubled mind—
Between two threats he was in a deadly bind. 635
He had little hope of entering heaven
Or expectation of any longer earthly life
If he could not find the cross. He said to Helena:
“Noble queen, how can I find something hidden
So carefully from mankind for so many years, 640
Two hundred or more by some measures.
Many good and wise men have come and gone
Since then, and I came into life much later.
How can I find mention in my heart’s hold
Of the treasure you seek?” Then Helena replied: 645
“How is it then that in this learned land,
You can remember every single event
That occurred in the time of the Trojan War?
This is infinitely older than Christ’s crucifixion.
If you can still tell that ancient story 650
In such detail—the nature of the struggle,
The outcome of the war, the exact number
Of spear-wielding warriors who went down
To death behind the wooden shield-wall—
You must have recorded the burial place 655
Of the radiant rood, the tree of glory,
In your secret writings long ago,
So that someone knows where it rests now
Beneath some rocky slope in a tomb
Of earth and stones, and how many years 660
Have passed since it was stealthily placed there.”
Judas replied, his mind bound in misery:
“My lady, we remember well that war
And have written about it in our records,
Keeping track of the combat between nations, 665
But the story of the Savior and the glory-tree
We’ve never heard from any man’s mouth
Except as it has been told here by you.”
Then the noble queen answered Judas again:
“You deny the truth that you know about 670
The tree of life, and yet a little while ago
You were talking to your comrades about the cross,
And now your words are warped as you lie
About the victory-tree, the Redeemer’s rood.”
Judas responded, saying that he spoke 675
Out of doubt and disquiet, trepidation and terror,
Fearing some harsh retribution for his answer.
Then the emperor’s kinswoman spoke these words:
“Listen! We have long heard that it is revealed
In scripture that the spiritual Son of God, 680
The child of the King, was crucified on Calvary,
Hung like a criminal on that gallows-tree.
Tell me the truth: where in the scriptures does it say
That Christ was killed? Where is the high hill
Where God and the glory-tree stood and suffered? 685
You must reveal the rood now or be executed
For your sins. I must find that hanging cross,
So I can cleanse it according to Christ’s will,
Purify it from its fierce fate, its death-dealing role,
Redeem it as a source of comfort and consolation 690