Progressive hymn: A cuckoo in the holy nest

A cuckoo in the holy nest,

can I admit to what I see?

A Jesus who is rough and hard,

a normal bloke like you and me,

a Jesus who could moan a bit,

a Jesus who could weep and sigh,

a Jesus who could laugh and joke,

a Jesus who could bleed and die.

Oh sometimes, yes, he's meek and mild,

but never when he ought to be;

forever giving disrespect

to leaders like that Pharisee.

And yet that name, 'how sweet the sound',

masks who he was and gives us pause

to sanctify humanity,

to take away all human flaws.

And what is left for us to praise?

Emasculated God lies dead,

right there beside a human corpse,

was it, I wonder, what I said?

Perhaps I ought to trust the lie

that if I doubt my God is dead?

But faith is possibility:

that hope is latent in my head!

© Andrew Pratt 18/3/2012

Inspired by Sydney Carter’s Rock of Doubt chap 3

HYMNS POSTED ON THIS BLOG MAY BE USED FREELY LOCALLY WITH ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. TO PUBLISH FOR PROFIT PLEASE CONTACT THE AUTHOR. For more hymns go to Hymns page For Books by Andrew Pratt follow LINKS on the Links page. Books are available on the following sites: Amazon, Stainer & Bell Ltd, Twelvebaskets, SCM-Canterbury Press. Andrew Pratt lectures at Luther King House, The Partnership for Theological Education, Manchester as a Methodist Tutor at Hartley Victoria College