They Recognized Him in the Breaking of the Bread

For Hadley Arkes, on the day of his Baptism, April 24, 2010 We all have laughed with Hadley We have admired him for years. We love his civic reasoning On law and natural right.

We love his love for Lincoln And for Martin Luther King— Who using natural law and right Thrice made dear freedom ring!

I remember Judy telling me-- Oh! it was many years ago— Hadley is already one of you, But the time is not yet ripe. . This news that made me happy, Made swim my ag-ed head. So I dared to say to Hadley, “I miss you / at the breaking of the bread.”

It seemed to me he believed like us In God, in law, in love; Even in the Word in Whom All things come from above.

He hadn’t quite met Jesus yet, And needed time for that. He read and thought and then --surprise!-- ’Twas after all the Church that knocked him flat.

He met with Jesus through the Church That bravely, bravely spoke the truth Before the Courts, Planned Parenthood. Media elites, and New York Times forsooth!

Dostoievsky, scholars say, Read from the Gospels every day. Come follow me, one day they say,. Come follow, come what may.

It takes a bit of trust, Lord knows, Until a man is sure. He has to try it out a while, Confess, be rendered pure.

Part of the meal one has to eat Includes a spoon of bitters, Spinach and a bowl bitter p-p-porridge In Hadley’s case it took a lot of c-c-courage!

Now we will know when Hadley’s Joined us, on Peter’s barque, on board? We recognized him breaking bread with us, At the Table of the Lord.

As many grapes one wine do make As many grains one bread So one with us will Hadley be At the Table of the Lord.

A unity with him much deeper Than we ever knew before. So shall we laugh, so shall we sing, Tell jokes and drink once more.

But now our joy will richochet Through heavens’ hosts and horde, All the centuries will eat with us At the Table of the Lord.

In the beginning only Jews did come To the Table of the Lord. So Hadley comes back home again To the Table of His Lord.

Thank God for Hadley! Thank God! All ye – Greeks and Poles And Englishmen, Ye Ethiopes, and Jews, Italians, and Frenchmen, Ukrainians and Rus--

Ye Chinese , ye Japanese, All ye from India and from the Philippines, Ye Mexicans, Chileans, And even Argentines—

Here, O Lord! comes everybody! To the Table of the Lord, Thank God! Comes everybody To the Table of the Lord.