University of Virginia Library

He left us, and for years we saw him not,
But for one passing visit of a day.
Our life resumed its calm, the even months
Went on, but purer, brighter than before:
A little band of brothers, so we lived
As in the world, not of it, honouring all,
Yet loving each the other. Not for us
The idol-feast, the revel, and the song;
But true work duly done, and converse grave
As though the Lord were listening. And we met
At sunset still in each returning week,
To break that bread of life, that wine to drink,
As He, the Lord commanded. But the power
Of that first day returned not. That full burst
Of prophecy was hushed: the wondrous Tongues
In wild, mysterious sweetness came and went,
Each echo weaker as the months passed on,
Until at last they ceased, and we became
Half weary with the sameness of our lives.
And then there came new travellers, grave and stern,
Rabbis, and scribes, and teachers of the law,
Trained at Gamaliel's feet. Around their robes
That swept the ground, the broad, bright fringe of blue
Proclaimed their faith, and o'er each arm there twined
The sacred scrolls, and when they stood and prayed,
O'er brow and face they drew the mystic veil,
As Moses did of old. They came from far,
They told us, from Jerusalem the blest;
They, too, were brethren, worshippers of Christ,
And from the high Apostles went they forth,
From Cephas, James, and John, with power to rule
The Churches, and to perfect all that lacked.

They came among us, asking how we lived,
What Paul had done for us; and when they heard
Our simple tale, they lifted up their hands,
And tore their garments; “What, ye fools, and blind?
Ye read the Law, and break it? Know ye not
That not one tittle of that Law shall fail;
And dare ye choose, in your o'erweening pride,
Now this, now that, to keep or cast away;
And, owning Abraham's God, to slight the seal
Of Abraham's faith? Hath not His voice declared,
‘The soul that is not circumcised shall die?‘
Yet ye remain as aliens, and the laws
Which God proclaimed from Sinai ye despise.
You tell us, ‘Paul thus taught.’ We know the man,
The apostate dreamer, breaking down the wall
Which God hath built. We sent him forth to teach,
And, when we found him faithless, cast him off.
We know that tottering frame and trembling step,
True sign of wavering counsels, and a voice
That tunes itself according to the time.
He, too, can speak as we do, when he seeks
To please the Jews, his brethren. Know ye not
That young Timotheos? Him he circumcised
Who bids you trust in faith without the Law;
And he who boasts of grace and light within,
Who bids you keep no Sabbaths, hold no feasts,—
He came from Corinth to our Temple-courts,
The Nazarite's vow upon his shaven head,
A pilgrim at our feast of Pentecost.”