The Passioun Of Christ: 12 - Poem by Walter Kennedy

Als to þe castell sevin myll fra þe ciete
Off his discipillis passand on pasche day,
His cruell pane rehersand with piete,
To þaim Jhesus apperit in þe way,
In pilgram weid; als to þam couth he say:
Quhilk ar þe sarmonis quhilk ȝe at þer speir,
Gangand þe way as ȝe all cairfull wer?
Ane to name wes callit Cleophas,
Said: Merwall is þat þou misknawis allane
Thir cruell dedis quhilum thir dais wes
To Jhesus done into Jerusalem,
Be oure princis how he wes tane [and] slane,
Als tiruit [him] with mony panis fell,
Quhom we trowit to redeme Iserall.
He said: O fulis and slaw in hert to trow
In þe prophacy quhilk spokin is of me;
Behuffit nocht Crist þis pane to tholl for ȝow,
Als rise fra dede, syne in his glore entre?
Syne he to þame exponit the prophacy,
Quhilk spokin had, þat he suld suffer pane,
And riss fra ded on the thrid day agane.
Quhen to þe castell neir cumin þai war,
He sonȝeit him, or he wald forthir pas.
Thai him besoucht his jornay to defer,
For it wes lait and þe nycht cumin wes.
Thair febill mynd he let na mair incress
Into dispair, quhairfor with him thai fure
In þe castell and schew him Saluature.
He wes oft wont, or he passit to ded,
With his discipillis quhen he held cumpany,
With his handis als cleyne to breik þe breid,
As with ane knyf ane wald it þair in hy;
He did so þan, syne delt þame him by,
Quhairthrow þai knew þat he wes God of mycht,
Thir twa discipillis sone haistit þam agane
To þe ciete and to þe postillis schew,
Into þe way how he talkit with þame,
Breikand þe breid, syne how þai him knew,
All bot Thomas, till ane closat him drew,
Quhairfor þat tyme with þame wes nocht present
Throu dispositioun of God omnipotent.


THE SEVINT APPERACIOUN.
Thoucht þai þe durris had steikit all [to] exclude
The cruell Jowis for þair Iniquite,
Jhesus come and in þe myddis stude,
And to þame said: Peace [m]ot to ȝow be!
Thai presumyt þat a spreit bene had he,
Bot he þame schew his handis and his feit,
To gar þame knaw þat he wes nocht a spreit.
Quhen Thomas come, þe discipillis him schew,
That þai had sene þe Lord in verite.
He said: I sall nocht traist þat it is trew,
Bot in his handis and his feit I see
All þe taikynnis of þe nalis thre,
And als my hand syne put into his syid,
Quhair þat þe speir schair a wound deip and wid.


OCTAUA APPERACIO STI THOME.
His febill hert, quhilk drew him in dispair,
In mair errour Crist wald nocht let him incress;
Thairfor, quhen þai [in þat] place gadderit war,
And Sanct Thomas als with þaim present wes,
The durriss steikit and closit þe entre[s],
Crist enterit in, be gret agelite
He stude in þe myddis of his communite.
Syn [till] Thomas, quhilk wes herdest in trouth,
Crist his sermone directit specialie.
His saule to tyne þis pietuous Prince had reuth,
Quhairfor him thocht him for to certify,
That he wes rissin in saule and in body.
Thairfor he said: In my syd put þi hand,
And ar no mair, bot be in faith constant.
Thy finger als put in my syd and knaw,
The place ȝit of þe nalis is patent.
Than Thomas trowit, quhen he taikinnis saw,
That our lord wes in his sicht present.
Als in his hert wox [he] richt penitent.
He said: Thomas, blissit mot þai be,
Quhilk saw me neuer, and trowis into me.


NONA APPERACIO.
Efter þat Crist our blissit Saluiour
Sustenit had his bitter passioun,
His discipillis in temporall gudis pure,
Quhilk keipit straitlie þe way of perfectioun,
Efter his glorius resurrectioun
The falt suppleyis of þair pouerte
Be thir laubouris and [thir] industry.
For Sanct Peter passit to þe fisching
With vthir sevin into his cumpany,
And all þat nycht wirkand þai tuke no thing,
Bot quhen þai war in maist perplexite,
Our lord apperit on land besyd þe sey,
And on þe land him present to þame schew,
Bot nane of þame him perfitlie knew.
He askit þame, gif ony fische þai had
Raddy graithit refectioun forto be.
Thai ansser maid, Crist þaim full meiklie bad
Thair nettis put agane into þe see.
Thai did command, fand fische aboundandlie,
Knew, he wes Crist, to quhom must neid obey
All kind of creatour in hevin, in erd and see.
Fra Peter saw fra Crist cumin wes he,
His hevinly grace kindillit his fer[u]our,
Out of þe schip þat he lap in þe sey,
That he mycht first speik with our Saluiour.
Than Crist him maid baith heid and gouernour
Till all þe laif, quhen þai wer all present,
In his dedis becauss he wes fervent.
O man, behald þi maker and thy king,
Quhilk his seruandis wisseis into stres,
Than all þe nycht had bene at þe fisching,
And tane nathing, bot into laubour wes;
Quhen þai wer tirit and thocht away to pas,
He come and schew, how þai þe fische suld tak,
Als on þe land with þame baith eit and spak.


THE TENT APPERACIOUN.
Syne to five hundreth and ma apperit he
Off his discipillis, or his ascencioun.
And, till mak end of dais fourtie
Efter his glorius resurrectioun,
He come and gaif þaim consolacioun,
Als eit and drank, and to þaim schew þe way,
How þai vthir mycht conserue into þe fay.
He thocht it tyme to schaw his majestie,
Throw his awin mycht ascendand to þe glore,
That he wald pas to þe hevin so hie:
Thairfor the tyme he wald prolong no more,
Bot he ascendit all þe pepill befor,
To set his manheid on his Faderis rycht hand,
Quhilk for his will to ded wes obeyand.
Than all þe Sanctis in paradice þat wes mak
Als eit and drank and schew þaim finalie,
That he fra þame as þan his leif wald tak,
And till him pas quhilk send him heir to de;
Bot ȝe, he said, sall find in þe ciete,
Quhill ȝe be cled be vertu of þe lycht,
Quhilk ȝe sall get throw þe gud spreittis mycht.
He tuke his leif, als Peter commandit þame,
To Mont Olivit als bad þai suld ascend;
Thai did richt sua, and [he] apperit agane
His ambassat to bring to finall end.
For he till erd fra his Fader wes send,
To de for man and man to grace restore,
Out of þe mirknes þe man to gid to glore.
With victory and trivmp celistiall,
With angellis sang, and angellis in cumpany
He ascendit, quhen þai war present all,
Fra Mont Olivit throw his agilite;
Baith handis and face in hevin directit he,
And þai behaldand, and sa ascendit on hicht,
Quhill a bricht clude him tuk out of þair sycht.
Thocht I wer also fair in eloquens
As ony ordour of angell cherubyn,
I culd not schaw quhat cure and deligence
Had sueit Jhesu, þe mannis saule to wyn,
Born for our saik, and syn slane for our syn;
Till hevin ascendit, till him a gid to be,
His blude in drink, in meit left his bodie.
His discipillis baid with þat hevinly queyne
Intill Syoun at þair deuocioun,
Graithand þair mynd [and] conscience makand cleyne
Of þe gude Spreit to tak remissioun.
For Jhesu said or his ascencioun:
He sall all heir in þe ciete remane,
The Haly Gaist quhill I ȝou send agane.
The tent day fra his ascencioun,
Quhen terce wes cumin, quhilk ix is of þe hour,
Out of þe hevin wes maid a suddane soun,
Lik to þe cumin of ane felloun schour.
And in þaim remanit in þat felloun stowr,
Quhair þair remanit a hundreth and twenty
Off his discipillis, bidand þat sycht to se.
In forme of fire þis Haly Spreit apperit,
Thair cludy mynd with fire wer to attend,
Quhilk dreid of dede had sa [with] trublance [sperit],
That Crist to grant wes nane þat durst pretend.
Bot fra to þaim þat confort wes send,
He þame inflambit so with cherite,
That for þe faith þai wer rady to de.
O Etern God, quha hes wit to expreme
The subtill wirking of þe Haly Gaist,
Quhilk man fra ewill to God turnit sa cleyne?
Off his cumin, and he haue hap to taist,
He garris [the] occourar leif his gud in haist,
And him follow in gret powerte;
Ane hird a king, a propheit makis he.
Off ane persewar he makis a protectour;
And of a cowart, quhilk denyit his name
Thris for ane word, or runyn wes ane hour,
He garris contempne all erdly pane; and þane
Aganis knychtis and princis him allane
Stand constantly, and Cristis faith defend;
Leif as ane postill, syn as a marter end.
With sic a man of craft aquent to be,
Quhilk is so without process of tyme,
It is richt gude till him, þat suddenlie
Wald be dischargit of all þe syn and cryme,
Quhairfor he suld susteyne etarnall pyne;
And his gret grace in schort tyme to retour
The lang offence done to þi Saluitour.
And euery man is sicker of his grace,
And he sa gret be of contritioun,
That he pretend, and he haue tyme and space,
Off his synnis to mak confessioun,
Als he may mak satisfactioun,
And syne no mair his Maker to offend,
And be with me vnto þe warldis end.
O Sueit Jhesu! o Saluiour souerane!
O Goddis Sone, in manheid immortall!
Quhilk on þe croce sufferit [gret wo and] pane,
The banist man to grace for to reabill;
Into þi grace þe cristin pepill stabill,
In hevin[nis] empire þat þai þi face may se
Withouttin end! Amen, for þi marcy.

Heir endis the passioun of our Lord Jhesu crist
signed - compilit be maister Walter Kennedy.