After the Resurrection of William Tyndale

TRANSLATING THE READER
AFTER THE RESURRECTION OF WILLIAM TYNDALE

But, of course, is some kind of code
for one like me.
Would I not be seduced by truth?

Truth would settle me,
a discussion of truth,
put me in the room,

so to speak. Speaking
truth. And the old pastor,
wily, does find the moment,

keying on love,
knowing what I need most
to hear. That was 40 years ago,

and just that fast,
he's been gone so long,
and while he's speaking to me,

now, I can call him up,
but I can't speak, even
after being handed this word.

And so it is that I find
William Tyndale, holy man
on the run translating the word,

(while driving in my truck,
mind you, listening to music,
wondering). How did William Tyndale

give us those words
in Ephesians? I already knew
didn't I, how new it was!

But I couldn't guess what
until I looked, and here it is,
crossing time, ...but let us

follow the truth in love...
True wonder of word,
given. The man who

would be stripped
of his calling by the world,
shows me a softer

way to stand, handing me
a more difficult way to walk.
Following truth,

more believable for any
in any time. And so it goes,
still, the modern man says.

Following...then,
comes from the printers
in 1534. In English--

And then
that committee convened
by the King--

We have an opportunity here...
to strike, to be bold, yes,
to speak--to speak truth

in the name of our Lord.
Did they, in that moment,
forget or remember, to love?

At the same moment
that English gives us Hamlet
we learn to speak emboldened.

These words will be enough
for one like me, given as they are,
by one who understands.

The truth to speak
for half a lifetime, a privilege
taken and carried,

a kind of ploughman
taken from his roots
and given a pen--released

now, to the humbler,
more difficult place,
500 years and more, after

the execution. Needing
now only to follow,
living it out that way.

Jim Bodeen
1 November 2015