Monday 15 June 2020

The Elder Brother (Prodigal Part 4)

Luke 15:25-28

“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him.

I’ve always had sympathy
perhaps even empathy 
for the other son 
The one who stayed
Kept things going
Did the right thing
All the while grudging
the burden he assumed
When the prodigal returned
to a hero’s welcome
there was no room left
in the elder brother
for celebration
or forgiveness
He’d already filled up
on resentment
and bitterness
No room for grace 
in a heart filled with grudge
No room for growth
in a life stunted with grief
No room for vision
in eyes misted with rage
Blinded to the abundance 
that was his for the taking
he chose to hold on to
his sense of loss
rather than reach for
a new lens 
that might reveal
a whole new vista
of possibility.
Sometimes
it’s just easier
to hold on to hurt
and disillusionment
than to open ourselves
to the transformative nature
of reframing the past
and re-imagining
the future
When we’ve been there
done that 
and already have the T shirt
our wounds become
our protective layer
an outer shell
that keeps us
from further hurt.
And who can blame us
for not wanting
to go back for more?
Elder brother status
is hard won
and even harder
to lay down.

Sunday 14 June 2020

Love - the LBD of God

Colossians 3:12-14 (The Message)
So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

That little black dress
The all-purpose go-to
for day and night
The dress-up
Or dress-down
A basic
all-purpose garment
Who knew?
God has already
catered for
the spiritual equivalent 
A staple in the wardrobe
Alongside
Compassion
Kindness
Humility
Quiet strength
Discipline
Love is our go-to
Love enables us
to be content with second place
to quietly
subversively
bring our best selves
to the work of showing Christ
at work in the world
May we never be without it.

Thursday 11 June 2020

Welcome home (Prodigal Part 3)

Luke 15:20
So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.

Grace met him on the way
Grace that didn’t check out
whether he was contrite
or suitably repentant
Grace
that didn’t wait
for his well prepared 
apology speech
Grace 
that left home too
to greet him
before he ever reached the threshold
Grace
that took him in it’s arms
and welcomed him home
The lost found
Always beloved
Grace
that thankfully doesn’t depend
on us changing
but erupts out of
the unchanging
nature of God.
Grace
meets us on the way.

Wednesday 10 June 2020

Lessons from exile (Prodigal Part 2)

Luke 15:14-19
When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ’


Lost
Alone
Desolate
Grieving
Not even a guest
at someone else’s table
the prodigal saw
in his rear view mirror
all that  he’d left behind
and longed to return
not to the place he’d occupied
as a feckless younger son 
but to a more humble
place of acceptance
that he might inhabit
with all that he’d learned
in the exile of his own making
And I wonder
once he got there
how often he yearned 
to be back with the pigs
in that place where he learned
of his own self worth
that place 
where he gained an inkling
of the love that awaited him
in the place he called home
the place he had to leave
to find himself.

Monday 8 June 2020

Squandered (Prodigal Part 1)

Luke 15:11-13
The Parable of the Prodigal and His Brother
Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.

My fear
is not that we won’t get back to normal
but that we will
My fear 
is that in yearning for all that we miss
we will rush back to what we know
My fear
is that we will forget all we have learned
about how to be community
in the rush to return 
to doing church
And then
We truly will have 
Squandered
all that we have learned
the beautiful
and the ugly
the obvious
and the hidden
Squandered
in our need for comfort
in the familiar
Squandered
as we return
to reciting our carefully crafted liturgy
without living it out
in the world of which it speaks
and of the God to whom it points
Squandered
as we go back to imagining
that gospel resides
within the church
(building or people)
Squandered
as we overlook
the gifts of the poor
to teach us
about justice
and care
and how to build community
that makes space
for the other.
Squandered
- all the gifts that the Creator has given
for the redeeming of the world.

Friday 5 June 2020

Listening with delight

Mark 12:35-37
While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David?
David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’
David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.

Listening with delight
Teach me how, O Lord
to listen with delight
to all that you share
Bidden 
Unbidden
Welcome
Dreaded 
Expected
Unexpected
Affirming
Crushing
Melodious
Dissonant
Enlightening
Confusing
Listening with delight
may I discern
your infinite purpose
enshrouded in love
promising wholeness 
accompanied
by your unrelenting presence
at every turn
Listening with delight
may I submit
my will to yours
For you create me
You redeem me
And you sustain me
May I delight in you.

Monday 1 June 2020

Choosing Trinity


Are we to believe
that God is a choosing God
who chooses some
to be above the law
and others
to be beneath contempt?
Are we to believe
that God is a choosing God
who chooses 
that some lives matter more than others
on the basis of race or creed or colour
on the basis of gender identity 
or sexual orientation 
Are we to believe
that God is a choosing God
who chooses that the richest 1%
should own half the worlds wealth?
Are we to believe
that God is a choosing God
who chooses that God’s church
and only part of it at that
contains all of the truth?
Are we to believe
that God is a choosing God
who chooses on the basis of economical robustness
which ‘marks of mission’
are still valid when things get tough?
Are we to believe
that God is a choosing God
who chooses that some skills
are more valuable than others 
and some ministries
are more important than others?
Are we to believe
that God is a choosing God
who chooses out of God’s triune nature
sometimes to be creator
sometimes to be redeemer
sometimes to be sustainer?
YES!
GOD IS A CHOOSING GOD
CHOOSING TO STAND
AND TO LIE DOWN
WITH ALL WHO ARE OPPRESSED
BY THE INJUSTICE IN OUR WORLD
CHOOSING TO SIT AT TABLE
WITH ALL THOSE CONSIDERED EXPENDABLE
CHOOSING TO AMPLIFY THE VOICES
OF THOSE WHO ARE SILENCED
BY AUTHORITY
BE IT GOVERNMENT OR STATE OR CHURCH
CHOOSING TO EXERT A WHOLE OTHER ECONOMY
THE TRIUNE GOD
CREATOR, REDEEMER, SUSTAINER
STANDS WITH THE POWERLESS
WEEPS WITH THE HELPLESS
AND CRADLES
IN NAIL TORN HANDS
EVERY DELICATE
PRECIOUS
GOD BREATHED LIFE
THROWING THE VULNERABILITY OF GOD
INTO THE RING OF HUMANKIND
IN ALL ITS BEAUTY AND BRUTALITY
YES!
GOD
CREATOR
REDEEMER
SUSTAINER
IS A CHOOSING GOD.

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