On St Brigid’s Day

 

A prayer on St Brigid’s Day

As I dipped my hand 

in the well of eternal youth

that it is said was blessed by St Brigid

and splashed the cooling water on my face

my prayer was not for youthfulness

but for wisdom

for peace

and for laughter

For the spirit of Brigid

and her divine feminine energy

That same Brigid

who turned water into beer

who prayed for an end to suffering 

Who cared for children

who welcomed women

I pray for her humour that disarmed

so much of the patriarchy around her

I pray for some of her indefatigable spirit

that brings newness every day

and is filled with compassion

and tenderness 

for all of creation

And, this I know - there is always room for more beer

Audaciously beloved!

 Matthew 3:16-17

And when Jesus had been baptised, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

The Spirit always shows up

And her presence 

is as disruptive today

as it was 

when Jesus was baptised by John

Baptised in the face of oppression and despair

Baptised in the grimness of life

For Baptism always proclaims the love 

and the mystery of God

and the presence of the unquenchable Spirit

Whenever baptism is offered:

At the beginning of life

as a symbol 

of hope and promise,

As a rite of passage

building on family tradition,

As a response to faith

that has grown slowly and surely,

At the hesitant request of  a beautiful 93 year old saint

embarrassed  to admit

that she had never been baptised,

Or with parents 

anxious about their newborn’s hold on life,

Whether sprinkled,

Dunked

Immersed

or with the gentlest whisper 

of a touch

Always, always, always.

the Holy Spirit

makes herself known

as angels gather

to sing a Gloria

declaring the audacity and wonder of God

who calls us

Beloved 

Reading the signs

 

Matthew 2:1-2

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”

The Magi persisted

in following their star

fulfilling their hopes

and dreams and calling.

Yet, even at journey’s end,

they remained alert to the wisdom 

that they should go home by another way.

For discernment is a process

of sifting and weighing

of staying in touch with the signs all around

of listening deeply to the still small voice

that risks being drowned out 

by the clamour of power or desire

and of being prepared to change direction

Therein lies Epiphany -

The awakening and the arrival

and the alacrity to respond with humility

when everything changes.

(Liz Crumlish Epiphany 2023)

Go gently

 Go gently

Let us enter the new year with curiosity

Curiosity that insists that we listen attentively

to hear another’s story

for each story matters

and uniquely contributes to the whole

Let us enter the new year with compassion

Compassion that enables us to care for self and others

embracing our shared humanity with compassion

that brings insight and affords space to care

Let us enter the new year with courage

Courage that enables us to be honest in our vulnerability

acknowledging the weariness and fear that often lurks

beneath our facade of strength

Curiousity, Compassion, Courage

Companions that will accompany us gently

into a new year

(Liz Crumlish December 2022)

Into the darkness

 

Isaiah 9:2

The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

those who lived in a land of deep darkness—

on them light has shined.

The Christ child comes to us

in the dark

For God is no stranger to darkness

And the light that shines

is the light of knowing

that there is one

who knows that darkness

from the inside out

One who does not fear the darkness

or leave us to it

but who comes to us

and stays with us

Stays with us in our loss and grieving

Stays with us in our fear and anger

Stays with us in our impotence and confusion

Stays with us whether our darkness is visible

or carefully masked from others

The Christ child comes to us

and stays with us 

in the dark

Advent happens

 

When our usual preparations for Christmas

fail to lighten our spirits

God is still with us

When we find ourselves going through the motions

hiding well the hollowness within

God is still with us

Should the tree remain in storage

and the crib scene languish in its bubble wrap packing

God is still with us

The advent of God

does not rest on our preparedness

but on God’s gift of love and grace 

So - for those who are exhausted faking it

God is born for you.

For those who continue to put on a brave face

God is born for you.

God is born into the reality

of loss and grief

of anxiety and despair

God’s tears join ours in our yearning for those we love

And when we find ourselves on our knees

God squats down beside us

acknowledging our pain, 

embracing our weariness

enfolding us in love.

This Christmas, as every Christmas

We are invited to approach the manger as we are

in our frailty

and disappointment

in our questioning

and disillusionment

in our tiredness

and disorientation

We are invited to sit with the baby God

who inhabits vulnerability 

as a way of being

as a way of being real

as a way of being cradled in the love of God

as a way of knowing

God is born for you.

(Liz Crumlish December 2022)

Lessons from leaves

 

Remember November

The leaves are still changing

Still letting go

And the ground is carpeted

with a riotous palette of colour

The leaves that contribute

to the colourful canopy above

cast no blame or shame

on those that have fallen

And the leaves that litter walkways

and swirl across paths

congregating in corners

do not look back

or regret their letting go.

Their work continues

in nourishing seeds that lie hidden

in ground that slumbers

Their work continues

in bringing joy to toddlers 

who delight in the crunchiness

they create underfoot

Their work continues

in the vast store of sustenance

that the squirrels heap up

to see them through the winter.

And we are invited to inhabit

awe and wonder

in this tangible evidence

of the rhythm of creation

in which all matter

and everything counts

and nothing is wasted

And we could do worse

than embody

the practices of the earth

as she shows us

carefully and colourfully

with extravagance and exuberance

how to embrace life

in every season.

(Liz Crumlish November 2022)