My Best Hour of All

  

 

“I also had my hour;

One far fierce hour and sweet:

There was a shout about my ears

And palms before my feet.”

 

The poet got it right

Regarding that Palm Sunday,

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem

Palms in the way lay.

 

Not only palms as told,

But people’s garments too

And that donkey carrying Jesus

Was also in view.

 

 

 

From parody to prominence

From a scourge to a song:

The wonderful shouts in adoration

As King Jesus rode along.

 

No horse as of a king

Or horse drawn carriage

But a scourge and derided donkey:

A parody of marriage.

 

O what elevation,

The donkey enjoyed that day

When the creator of all donkeys

Travelled the Calvary way!

 

 

 

For these adoring Jews

Would soon change the tune

And the Redeemer of the human race

Would be interred in a tomb.

 

 

 

But not before crucifixion:

A slow and horrendous death,

Sentenced for your sins and mine

Bringing eternal rest.

 

It was the donkey’s hour

Shared with the King of kings

As they journeyed into Jerusalem

And heard the people sing.

 

Temporary though it was,

None can take it away:

There were palms beneath its feet;

Shouts about its ears.

 

 

 

G. K. Chesterton got it right

Hence, his poem I quote

About the donkey’s greatest hour

That he also wrote.

 

Gone down in History

A donkey without a name

But featured that first Palm Sunday

And when the Saviour came.

 

The journey to Bethlehem

Bearing an unborn child,

Whose mother and father later on

Would have to hide.

 

No doubt another donkey,

To Egypt took them

When King Herod’s crazy decree

Caused a dire problem.

 

 

 

But the best hour of all

Was in the Master’s control

When she carried the King of kings

Walking fearless and bold.

 

“For I also had my hour;

One far fierce hour and sweet:

There was a shout about my ears

And palms before my feet.”

 

Stewart Russell © March 29, 2026

 

A Parody of the Doxology

 

 

Blame God from whom all cyclones blow,

Blame him, all creatures here below,

Blame Him, who knocks down church and steeple,

Who sends the floods and drowns the people.

 

Anonymous

 

I ponder on this writer’s worldview

But not for long

For whatever his origins’ position

This view is wrong.

 

Instead

 

 Praise God from whom all blessings flow,

Praise Him, all creatures here below,

Praise Him above the heavenly hosts,

Praise Father, Son ad Holy Ghost.

 

He could be a creationist

Or an evolutionist,

Be it one or the other

There is much he has missed.

 

He may have been joking

Like some of us do,

But somethings you don’t joke about

Is my considered view.

 

People mocked the donkey

From time immemorial

As a result, the following was written

It’s rather satirical.

 

A Parody of the Donkey

 

When fishes walk and forest flew

And figs grew upon thorns,

Some moment when the moon was blood

Then surely, I was born.

 

G. K. Chesterton

 

Just one verse I have written

To define what’s a parody,

It speaks of a time that never was

As the origin of the donkey.

 

Treated with utter contempt

In this some find their humour,

And though the matter be serious

For some it evokes laughter.

 

The frogs were having a swim

One day in a village pool

Along came some village boys

And each became a fool.

 

They began to stone the frogs

And one by one they died,

But a wise old frog opened up his mouth

And the boys’ actions he decried.

 

“What’s fun for you boys Is death to us,”

That wise old frog remarked,

A valued lesson for those young boys

And a very good place to start.

 

 

Some blame God for all that’s wrong

But for the good man gets the praise,

Hence, this parody of the doxology

No need to repeat what it says.

 

I must confess I would be afraid

To refer to God in such a way,

God in evil does not participate

Never in the past or even today.

 

So that parody we will strike out

And go with what we know:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow

Praise Him all creatures here below.

 

Stewart Russell © September 23, 2021

 

 

 

My Response

 

A Parody of the Doxology

Blame God from whom all cyclones blow,

Blame him, all creatures here below,

Blame Him, who knocks down church and steeple,

Who sends the floods and drowns the people.

Anonymous

I ponder on this writer’s worldview

But not for long

For whatever his origins’ position is

This view is terribly wrong.

Let me write out the doxology

So that we all can compare

The truth about the Almighty God

And the nonsense that men often air.

 Praise God from whom all blessings flow,

Praise Him, all creatures here below,

Praise Him above the heavenly hosts,

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

What a departure this parody is!

What a severe distortion of truth!

Clearly this writer is making claims

For which he has no proof.

He could be a creationist

Or an evolutionist, he might be,

Be it one or the other,

There is much he cannot see.

He may have been joking

Like some of us tend to do,

But somethings you don’t joke about

Is my considered view.

People mocked the donkey

From time immemorial;

As a result, the following was written:

It is rather satirical.

  

The donkey does the talking,

Aware of how he is perceived,

These first two verses make the point

He hopes we human will receive.

When fishes walk and forests flew

And figs grew upon thorns,

Some moment when the moon was blood

Then surely, I was born.

With monstrous head and sickening cry

And ears like errant wings,

The devil’s walking parody

On all four-footed things.

G. K. Chesterton

Just two verses I have written

To define this parody,

It speaks of a time there never was

As the origin for the donkey.

Treated with utter contempt

In this some find their humour,

And though the matter be serious,

For these it evokes laughter.

You might recall the fable of old

Written by the Greek author, Aesop,

When the village boys engaged in fun

But for the frogs, it certainly was not.

The frogs were having a swim

One day in a village pool,

Along came some village boys

And each became a fool.

They began to stone the frogs

And one by one they died,

But a wise old frog opened up his mouth

And the boys’ actions he decried. 

“What’s fun for you Is death to us,”

That wise old frog remarked,

A valuable lesson for those young boys

And a very good place to start.

Some blame God for all that’s wrong

But for any good man gets the praise,

Hence, this parody of the doxology,

No need to repeat what it says.

I must confess I would be afraid

To refer to God in such a way

But there are some who wouldn’t care less

Even if He should some of them slay.

God takes responsibility, I believe,

For all that He has created,

Especially human beings like you and me

Whose brains often seem cremated.

Like the writer of this parody

That may seem to be very clever,

To him it might have been humorous

But to God it brings no pleasure.

I will take one thing from his parody,

That is, he recognizes God,

The fact he blames Him for cyclones

Says there is a God, after all.

There’s hope, I believe, for such;

It’s the first step to being rewarded,

For one must believe that God exists

If life to him should be accorded.

So, I would say to my fellow writer

Now, take it to the logical step,

Disabuse your mind from this parody of justice

And thank Jesus for paying your debt.

Yes, God did curse the world

But on account of man’s deliberate sin,

But he also gave His only Son

Through whom we can come to Him.

He is our refuge in the cyclone

And our protector in the floods,

And in any circumstance that comes our way

God always demonstrates He is good.

Stewart Russell © March 2020