The Mystery

Luke 2:1-7

The Birth of Jesus

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Birth does not happen

just when the time is right

or when everything is ready

when we've done all the right things

or when we wait patiently ...

Even when carefully planned

and engineered

long awaited

or dreaded,

birth comes crashing in

bringing change

and disruption

The arrival of a baby

in the best of circumstances

brings upheaval that cannot be anticipated.

Whether homeless on the streets

Or camped in a refugees enclosure

Crouched in squalor

Or laying in a manger

Birth comes

Heralding joy and sorrow

excitement and danger

Signalling despair and hope

fear and longing.

Into melee and mystery

God is born.

The world is not suddenly transformed.

The experience of birth is no less traumatic

The chaos and squalor do not disappear.

But the air is charged with a new reality

that is seldom grasped:

A message for all:

You are deeply, deeply loved

by a God who is love.

For a season

 

Grief caught me unawares this morning

as it is wont to do

Amidst the hope and the peace 

and the joy and the love

proclaimed by the Advent candles

grief snuck in

unbidden

unwelcome.

I want to push her away

ignore her

push her far down

into the recesses of my soul

where she can languish

until she decides to play nice.

But she keeps on surprising me

with her force and her persistence

with her ability to make me confront 

what ails me

or at least to consider

the reality of pain

being present

when all is good

and right

and life-giving.

To follow a call

does not grant immunity

from the pain of loss

and the vagaries

of transition.

And the comfort God promises

is slow to appear.

But maybe wholeness is found

in acknowledging, not denying

in welcoming, not ignoring

in sitting with grief as a companion

through whom God intends

to reveal purpose.

And perhaps healing will come

when the tasks of mourning are done.

In God's time

the landscape of loss

will be transformed

into newness of life.

The God of every transition

calls us, not to easy paths

but to paths 

that will help us grow.

And that promise

is the hope and the peace

and the love and the joy

of this season.

Thanks be to God.

Advent waiting

It's strange this Advent

not to be running full tilt

to make sure that everything's ready:

The candles, the poinsettias, the bulletins, the powerpoints,

the trees and the nativity scenes,

the baubles and the stars for the blue Christmas service,

the readers, the mince pies and mulled wine,

the prayers, the poems, not forgetting the midweek reflections.

(and that's just the church stuff)

It's strange.

And I'm not sure I like it much.

But I wait.

Empty handed.

Vulnerable.

Tearful.

Bereft.

Wondering why God calls me to this.

But assured that God does.

I have hope in this season of Advent.

Hope for the world - 

for the glimmer of light in all the darkness that abounds.

Hope for the church - 

for renewal that incites love.

And hope for peace

that reaches deep within in the waiting

massaging a bruised and tired spirit

healing a wound that refuses to close

revealing a purpose as yet not fully grasped.

It's strange this Advent,

And so, I wait...

Peacemakers and Peacekeepers

Matthew 5:9

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

I was moved, yesterday, to hear murdered US Journalist, James Foley's mother speak with grace and dignity on the killing by government security forces of Jihadi John. She questioned how, in the light of her son's peacemaking efforts, anyone could imagine that justice had been done in more violence.

And, as several world leaders declared the world a better place with the death of one terrorist, the horror of IS attacks on Paris, clearly carefully planned and orchestrated, exploded on to our TV screens and social media feeds.

Right now, nations across the world are united in grief and outrage. Public events are being cancelled, both as a mark of respect and out of fear of security breaches. Public buildings are being illuminated with the blue, white and red of France's tricolour.

Religious leaders are calling for prayers for peace.

But how long before governments retaliate with violence?

How long before more lives are lost, lives that will not be mourned or even named publicly, mere collateral in the war on terrorism?

In this week when the UK has honoured those who have fallen in war, along with all those who "kept the home fires burning", as we've heard impassioned pleas from many veterans of war to find a way to peace, we hold our collective breaths, fearing what seems inevitable in a world that knows not how to make peace - that once again we will be led, by our power hungry governments into more revenge and violence in the name of justice.

And our tears mingle with those of God...

Processing change, encountering grace.

It is now six weeks since I left Parish Ministry to take up my new post as Path of Renewal Coordinator.

As well as getting to grips with a new job, the description of which is still, largely, being written, there has been the challenge of moving house, leaving church, and finding a new faith community.

We have discovered how easy it is to accumulate far too much "stuff" in 34 years of marriage. Although neither of the manses we have occupied contained the required number of rooms stipulated by the Church of Scotland,  we still had a lot of recycling to do in order to occupy our new home. 

We have also discovered the freedom of choosing our own colour schemes and having work done without committee discussion and approval!

Finding a new church wasn't difficult: there are plenty around and the one closest was so welcoming that we haven't ventured anywhere else. But Sundays are still traumatic. It is difficult to be in the pew. 

It's not so much that I miss preaching or conducting worship per se. And I certainly don't miss all the preparation and angst. But I miss being with the community that I know and love, the community that appreciated the unpredictable on a Sunday, who were always up for a challenge and who welcomed my style and spontaneity in worship.

Well meaning friends and colleagues have suggested that I should fill in for other ministers, and there have been offers. But that still wouldn't mitigate the miss that I feel of worshipping with a community who had become familiar - pilgrims together.

Sundays are pain-filled but I give thanks for a new community of faith in which folk are willing to let me simply be, offering space and compassion, empathy and companionship on this latest stage on the journey of faith.

And in my new post, as I mentor and support others who are exploring new ways to be communities of faith, I will remember these important lessons in letting go, in grieving,  and in embracing the new, supported by those who live into the grace of God.

Refreshing community

I had occasion to travel by bus today in Glasgow. What a refreshing experience. On my 15 minute journey, I witnessed community in action. 

Having no idea where I needed to alight, and having been informed by the driver: "Saracen Street's a lang street, hen", I asked another passenger if she knew of the church I was scheduled to be. She did know and she took great care to not only make sure that I got off at the right stop but that I also knew in which direction to walk to reach my destination, (including where to cross the road).

One passenger got on, heavily laden with packages. In one of his carriers was some grocery shopping. But the carrier bag was torn and his groceries were in danger of spilling out. Another passenger not only donated another bag for him, but helped him repack his groceries. He then proceeded to share with everyone on the bus where the best bargains of the day were to be had. His advice was heard and appreciated. And good natured banter ensued.

I arrived, glad that I had chosen to travel by public transport.

Another way

Isaiah 65:17-25
The Glorious New Creation
For I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating;
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,
and its people as a delight.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,
or the cry of distress.
No more shall there be in it
an infant that lives but a few days,
or an old person who does not live out a lifetime;
for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,
and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain,
or bear children for calamity;
for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord—
and their descendants as well.
Before they call I will answer,
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
but the serpent—its food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain,
says the Lord.

As we continue to witness the appalling plight of refugees throughout the world, fleeing war, persecution, starvation, discrimination and oppression. As our daily news bulletins show children washed up on European beaches, lorries full of bodies abandoned at the road side and migrants being vilified, our hearts tell us: There must be another way. But the vision that is sketched in Isaiah seems like light years away.

And yet...

And yet we see ordinary human beings exercising compassion, refusing to be hampered by governments' attempts to plead poverty or to scaremonger, opening their hearts and their homes, sharing their resources, making a difference in whatever way they can, fulfilling just a bit of that vision, creating chinks in the wall of resistance and fear and apathy that have arisen. We see love in action that gives rise to hope. Hope in the ordinary bringing about the extraordinary.

And we are called simply to keep on being ordinary, using and sharing the gifts that we have until, by the grace of God, our ordinary becomes extraordinary.

Ashamed #Not in my name

As another day dawns and the displaced migrants at Calais (and at other border points) are pilloried by the UK Government, as the chaos unfolding and the loss of business caused by trucks being parked up, unable to cross the channel is blamed, not on port and ferry workers engaged in industrial action, but on those same migrants, treated with less dignity than we treat livestock, as (some)UK tax payers cry foul at the tax funded BBC filming Songs of Praise from a sanctuary erected in the migrants' enclosure and as that same callous UK Government seeks to spend £7 million on a fence to imprison the migrants, already dehumanized by (some) reactive hate filled media reporters, I offer this prayer, written, earlier in the week for Sanctuary First.

Refugees 

Queued at ferry ports

Hanging around dock yards

In the cold light of day and under the cover of darkness

Gathered up like cattle 

Escorted back to persecution and death

As you see these now familiar sights O God

What are your thoughts?

As you see small boats washed up without their many occupants

who now lie at the bottom of the ocean

What are your thoughts,O God?

As you see prosperous nations refusing to offer aid

or even temporary shelter or asylum

What are your thoughts O God?

And as you witness us redrawing boundaries

feeling our security threatened by the plight of others

Or, worse, turning to look the other way

What are your thoughts,O God?

Your son was often far from welcome

in our streets and towns

seen as a threat to security

a challenge to the authorities of the day.

What are your thoughts O God

as you see your children today

still closing ranks

still refusing to share

still condemning others to death

God help us to see what you see

and to be convicted by your thoughts

until we open the borders of our hearts and our minds

to make room for all your people. 

Path of Renewal

Matthew 10:5-9 (The Message)

Jesus sent his twelve harvest hands out with this charge:

"Don't begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don't try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.

"Don't think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start.

At the end of this month, I will celebrate the 20th anniversary of my Ordination to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament.

I have served those years in Health Care Chaplaincy, in rural ministry and in urban ministry.

I have had the joy of being involved in church councils and committees (no, really!), mentoring students, facilitating discernment, and staffing National youth events while engaged in the immense breadth of everyday Parish Ministry.

And now, a new challenge beckons.

I have been called to serve as Coordinator for the Path of Renewal Project on which the Church of Scotland is embarking.

This project seeks to serve and support, in the first instance, 20 congregations throughout Scotland as they seek to discern the mission of God in their communities and grow and equip leaders to join in that mission.(in a nutshell!)

Since I first shared with the congregation I serve that I felt called to pursue this new pathway I have been profoundly affected by their questions and comments as well as by their grief and congratulations.

Questions such as: "Were you not happy here?"

Comments such as:"We always knew you were destined for higher things."

I know that few of us handle the process of change well. Indeed, the Path of Renewal Project will be hugely concerned with supporting Transitions as we seek other ways to do and to be church.

And, to be honest, I'm really struggling with the major upheaval it is to move from parish ministry into this new post- not least, finding a new home!

People say things out of shock or grief.

However, I would hope that it is clear to anyone who knows me how much I love Parish Ministry and how much I love this parish I am about to leave.

And it is frustrating that, after seven years of preaching on how special, unique and loved by God these people are, that any should think there is a higher or better calling in service of God.

But I cannot deny that God has now called me to a new thing and so I must relinquish a ministry I hold dear at present.

No matter how risky it is, no matter how fatuous colleagues might deem this new role, it is a role to which God is calling me at this time.

And so I go in faith.

Not without tears.

Not without trepidation.

Not because I seek something higher or better.

But because God calls.

And where God calls, there I must follow.

I look forward to continuing to share the journey with you.

Reinforcing the Stained Glass Ceiling

I am a member of RevGalBlogPals, a supportive network for women clergy. I discovered this ministry some ten years into my own ordained ministry in the Church. Enduring the isolation of a solo pastorate and being surrounded by male colleagues, I experienced the need to reach out to other women who were juggling the tasks of ministry with all sorts of other roles in life. I immediately found kindred spirits who, quite simply,"got it", women who knew how challenging it is to balance all the different tasks assigned uniquely to women in Ministry. RevGalBlogPals remains a life line for me. I serve on the Board and I participate in their Continuing Ed events. Recently, some of my colleagues have been questioning the gender exclusivity of these events. This is my response:

When I began the process toward ordination over twenty five years ago, I had barely heard of the Stained Glass Ceiling. My denomination had been ordaining women to the ministry of word and sacrament for over twenty years and I had experienced some impressive role models of women in leadership along the way.

After training, experiencing a call to Hospital Chaplaincy rather than Parish Ministry saved me from some of the pain other women colleagues were encountering.when they applied for parishes and were rejected on the basis of gender. And each of my appointments since have been based on reputation and recommendation. Along the way,I have had occasion to challenge discrimination against women as I've encountered it. And, for a time, I was confident that there were cracks appearing in the Stained glass ceiling of the church. But, more recently, as my denomination grapples with issues of inclusion based on sexuality, it seems that, for some, re-establishing the church's historically narrow, male-dominated, conservative leadership is a priority.

Twenty years post ordination, my fear is that the Stained glass ceiling was too fragile for many and so now, it has been reinforced in all sorts of obvious and insidious ways. And, while the most effective way to counter this is for women to keep stepping up, to challenge this denial of God's call that does not discriminate on the basis of either gender or sexuality, when one is often the only woman in a room full of men, or when one's contributions have been mansplained one more time (and once is one time too many), it is wearing to keep going back for more. It calls for certain appendages with which only men are endowed. And, meanwhile, there are other tasks to be accomplished as the body of Christ: feeding the hungry, visiting the prisoner, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked... Tasks that, as a woman in Ministry, I find it difficult to subjugate to the fight to be accorded my rightful place at the table as a woman called by God.

Hence my need to indulge in women only events that examine the role we play in an institution that continues to discriminate against us because of an alignment of chromosomes or of body parts over which God presided.

That tinkle of breaking glass? It wasn't the glass ceiling coming down. It was being reinforced.

Accepted as we are

Psalms 69:1-3

Psalm 69

Prayer for Deliverance from Persecution

To the leader: according to Lilies. Of David.

​Save me, O God,

for the waters have come up to my neck.

I sink in deep mire,

where there is no foothold;

I have come into deep waters,

and the flood sweeps over me.

I am weary with my crying;

my throat is parched.

My eyes grow dim

with waiting for my God.

Come as you are.

Bring what you have.

Not just  good news.

Not just the praise.

Not just the highs of the day.

But every cry and every want

and every complaint,

even despair.

These too are welcome

in God’s sight.

For God wants all of us,

the parts we reveal

and all that we hide,

the things we can live with 

and the things that we bury.

All of these- shaken, stirred, poured out and laid in plain view 

are not pretty to us

but precious to God.

God is big enough to take all of us

and love us even when we do not love ourselves.

Steadfast God who takes it all.

(A reflection written for Spill the Beans)

Counter Balance

Musing today on how my Facebook news feed is filled with silly statuses.

Probably because I'm involved in the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

The silliness is a counter balance to the gamut of emotions raised by GA business.

During the course of the first thirty minutes today I was moved to tears by the beauty of worship being signed for deaf participants, wounded by a condescending and patronising message from a colleague, filled with hope and pride listening to Youth Delegates' contributions and flooded with gratitude, love, and joy at being part of this great, flawed, maddening, respected and influential institution composed of living stones.

No wonder I feel compelled to take refuge in some silliness!

Thanking God for the love, inclusion and potential of the Church of Scotland, living stones for the nation and the world.

Hope

This reflection was written for Spill the Beans before I knew that this would be the Sunday after a General Election in the UK but seems pretty apt for the season.

For what do you hope?

For what do you hope?

Is it some future event?

Something that can be planned, researched, engineered or financed?

Like a cure for cancer?

Or a way of regenerating brain cells destroyed in dementia?

Or marvellous DNA repairs for confused chromosomes?

For what do you hope?

Is it some notion that tomorrow will be better?

That the benefits system will serve those in need?

Or that Food Banks will no longer be necessary?

That no one will sleep rough on our streets but that all will know shelter?

For what do you hope?

Is it for signs of world peace?

The dismantling of refugee camps?

The sharing of clean water?

For what do you hope?

The promise of God

for God’s people everywhere

is to know peace in every situation

because we are loved by the God whose name is love

and who, in Christ has already gathered us up in love.

Now that is something for which to hope.

And a hope that will not disappoint.

Welcome to a brand new day...

As the sun rises on another day in Scotland, the day after a General Election in the UK and 70 years since VE Day celebrations, the landscape looks different. It is as yet unclear what that difference is or how it will play out. But, in a country still struggling to re-define itself post Referendum and with so many claiming, I believe falsely, that to vote SNP is to vote for Nationalism, it is certainly a country in turmoil. While democracy has prevailed and people have exercised their democratic right to change the political hue of government, it is unclear whether that voice of protest will in fact change the things we want to see changed.

Will the hungry be fed without the need for Foodbanks?

Will the benefits system provide the safety net it lacks at present?

Will the "never employed generations" be offered a way to meaning and value?

Will austerity be banished?

Post- Referendum, churches were asked to pray for peace and reconciliation.

I believe that, today, that is perhaps even more crucial as this small nation finds its way to show the rest of the UK - and the world- how to "Walk humbly, act justly and love mercy" (Micah 6:8)

And, in working out how to do that, remember all those whose life's work and honest intentions have been swept aside overnight and who are forced to begin today to reassess their place in the future of Scottish and UK Politics.

When victory was declared in Europe, there was much shaking up and shaking down to be negotiated. Hopes were high. But there were also many wounded souls that required just care and compassion.

Seventy years on, my prayer is that we can find a way through the melee, listening to and for the voices that reach for justice and peace. And, above all that we will love one another through all our differences.

Uproot

Uproot

Being pulled up gently

Like a tender sapling

Disturbing the soil

Shaking it loose

Each tendril

claiming its own space

before being replanted lovingly elsewhere

to bloom and to grow 

knowing the nourishment of good soil

and the nurture

of caring and competent hands.

OR

Being ripped out of the earth

Pulled violently

from a place of deep longing

Broken apart

with no way back

Uprooting comes in many ways

For some an every day occurrence

accepted as a part of existence

For others, a fiercely resisted intrusion

that wreaks havoc

And yet uprooting 

always carries the potential

Of life and growth

however it comes to us. 

Relinquishing shepherd hood

Ruth Everhart, teaching on Pilgrimage said: "So much of what we do is about shepherding other people's spiritual experiences." And she asked: "What is it you do to reclaim your spiritual authenticity?"(or something along those lines.)

I began to think, firstly, of some of the physical ways I would attempt to remove myself from being in pastor mode. I have a T shirt I love to wear which bears the question: "Ask me if I care?" That serves to remind me that, at this moment, in this setting I am not the pastor. I am not the one called to be the carer. It is a T shirt for time off.

If physically possible, I head to the beach and can usually find a spot with no other human company. Then it's just me and God. The wind and the waves and the beauty of the scenery conspire to renew my energy and to draw me to something other than my bone crushing weariness. My senses are tantalised. I breathe deeply, deeper than I have for some time and, even though this beach pilgrimage is a fairly regular occurrence, I'm always surprised to discover in it, the presence of God. When I move out of God's way, God materialises, sitting alongside me on the beach, walking next to me at the water's edge, blowing around me, messing my hair and placing the tang of salt on my lips. And in those moments I am reminded that God cares for me too. The God I work hard to reveal to others is revealed to me in those sacred moments. That shift in perspective is surely pilgrimage.

Down the Line

One of our number was delayed yesterday enroute from England to Scotland to participate in a Continuing Education Event by an incident on the Railway Line.

I found it difficult to embark on the Conference until I'd taken some time to reflect on/pray about this:

Sitting on the train

On a journey

Destination determined

Perhaps musing on events before the journey started

Or anticipating what is to come

An announcement is made:

"There's been a fatality on the line."

Inconvenient - to say the least.

Inconvenient for me

delaying my arrival 

Inconvenient for those with whom I am meeting

pushing back the start of a carefully planned programme

Inconvenient for train crews

those on either side of "the blockage"

Inconvenient for those whose task it is to schedule

arrivals and departures

and rolling stock

being in the right place

at the right time.

But much more than inconvenient

for family members

whose loved one has died

and who will never know

why that was the time and place and method chosen.

Much more than inconvenient for a community

saddened and shocked as the news travels through.

Much more than inconvenient for emergency crews

responding to a call

and becoming embroiled in trauma.

Way down the line

the effects roll out 

connections are made

and humanity

knows itself embroiled

in the drama of life

united in fragility

and vulnerability

and in being mortal.

There's a woman in the pulpit

Every single day, ministry brings incredible challenges and opportunities. It embraces the sublime and the ridiculous. It is a vocation liberally peppered with poignancy, confidences and stories. Many of these stories deserve to be shared. "There's a woman in the pulpit" is a book full of such stories contributed by clergy women who are members of RevGalBlogPals, a supportive network for women serving, seeking or discerning a call to ministry. These are stories laced with sadness and joy, with honesty,,openness and a great deal of humour.
RevGalBlogPals started in 2005 as a handful of women clergy reached out to one another through their blogs offering prayerful and practical support. The community has grown exponentially as word spread and, as well as daily blog posts, the community now also supports a Facebook Group of almost 3000 members, where posts are moderated to ensure that a safe and supportive space is maintained, along with Twitter and Tumblr accounts. Honesty,humility and humour underpin much of the work undertaken as RevGals and pals support each other through life and ministry. Rev Martha Spong is the Director of RevGals and editor of the book. RevGalBlogPals demonstrates how virtual community can be real. There's a Woman in the Pulpit is testimony to that.

Risen indeed!

Matthew 28:5-8

But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

The sanctuary is prepared

to greet another Easter dawn

The white cloths

The flowers 

All is quiet

Just waiting on the congregation to arrive

And the service to get underway

So that we can proclaim

Christ is risen

He is risen indeed!

Those who utter those words of life

utter them with varying levels of conviction

with varying levels of need.

For some, there is no hesitation

Words spoken with joy 

For others, they are spoken through gritted teeth

The grit of hope 

The hope that God enters

all the tombs that feature in our lives

However we greet this Easter dawn

in sorrow or in triumph

the Risen Christ meets us

and goes ahead of us

fulfilling our hopes

fulfilling our need

Affirming time after time

that love is stronger than death

And in every darkness

God walks beside us

breathing life.

Christ is risen

He is risen indeed.

Laid in the tomb

Matthew 27:57-61

The Burial of Jesus

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

Laid in the tomb

The hopes and dreams of a nation

Laid in the tomb

That bitter taste of disappointment

Laid in the tomb

The stories, the promises, now meaningless words

All replaced with a grief filled silence

And in that silence

rudderless folk

who had desperately wished

for a different outcome

scattered to lick their wounds

not even far enough along to wonder

What next?

They sat with their grief 

and bitterness and disappointment

in silence

as all that they loved

was laid in the tomb.

In the shadows

Matthew 27:45-46

The Death of Jesus

From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

The shadows lengthen

And in them crouches Judas, the betrayer

And Peter the denier

And Thomas the doubter

And Mary the anointer

And Simon the cross bearer

And Pilate washing his hands 

And Barabbas, a freed man

And the soldiers casting lots

And the women quietly crying

And Joseph, preparing the tomb

All with bit parts in the unfolding drama

Of the death of Jesus

And the breaking of the heart of God

With friends...

Matthew 26:31

Peter’s Denial Foretold

Then Jesus said to them, “You will all become deserters because of me this night; for it is written,

‘I will strike the shepherd,

and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

Celebrating the Passover with friends

Taking time out in an upper room

Caring for their tired and weary bodies

with water, wine and bread.

Then, stories shared and hunger sated,

going into the garden in the cool of the night to pray.

Going into the garden 

where betrayal and arrest awaited him.

And one by one, the friends disappeared

slinking into the night

watching form a distance

feeling the hurt and betrayal

but powerless to change it.

And the Son of God

who removed his robe to serve his friends

was left exposed and abandoned

on the night before his death

as the light burned dimly

just before dawn.

Who is this?

Matthew 21:10

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?”

Riding a donkey into the city

Clearing the temple

Cursing the fig tree

Dining with friends

Telling stories 

Being anointed with precious ointment

Trying to keep a low profile

Constantly glancing over his shoulder 

To see if his time had come

Lengthening shadows

And gathering clouds

Time's running out

And the question remains:

Who is this?

Such love

Matthew 21:14-15

The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did, and heard the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became angry

There will always be those

who are suspicious

of the motives of others

or threatened

by their popularity

Those who cannot see good

for what it is

Pure

Uncomplicated

Love in action

And for those 

who practice justice

and love mercy

and walk humbly 

the naysayers

bring danger

and do their best

to suck the good out of

all that promises 

wholeness and healing.

But love had - and has the last word

Even as he was being crucified

the King of love cried

"Father, forgive them"

And such love

could not be extinguished

but triumphed

over the angry ones.

Such love.

Making room

Matthew 21:12

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.

No room for the poor

who couldn't afford the temple taxes

or acquire the right kind of offerings

No room for the sick

who might defile the space for others

No room for the sinners

who might dilute the righteousness

No room for the lonely

who might carry the expectation of community

Jesus entered the temple

and cleared the space

making room for those

who wanted to pray.

And what of our sanctuaries today?

Is there a place for those who could use some care

Those who don't sit still for very long

Those who interrupt

Those who are confused

Those who need our patience 

as we sit with them in welcome

Those who do not contribute

except by affording us the opportunity

to welcome and embrace.

Is there a place

for the poor and the lonely

for the sick and the hurting

for the righteous and the sinner

Is there a place for prayer?

Matthew 21:13

He said to them, “It is written,

‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’;

but you are making it a den of robbers.”

Hosanna

Matthew 21:9

The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Hosanna'

Lord save us

cried the children

mimicking their elders

Hosanna

Lord save us

cried the weary

pleading for an easier load

Hosanna

Lord save us

cried the women

longing for compassion

Hosanna

Lord save us 

cried the outcasts 

hoping for acceptance

Hosanna

Lord save us

cried the disciples

still confused about their journey

And who are the folk today crying

Hosanna

Lord save us

Seeking companionship

on their journey 

compassion and acceptance 

along the way

a lightening of the load

and purpose

for each new day

Hosanna

Lord save us

A cry that awaits

our response today.

Pray, pray and pray again

Colossians 1:9

For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

To be covered in prayer

Is a gift without price

Like a comfort blanket

gently draped

or held on to.

Like a duvet

being pulled back

on a cold wintry morning.

Like a soft fleecy snuggle

that brings warmth.

Prayer that

Comforts

Confronts

Cajoles

Prayer that

Relaxes

Stimulates

Motivates.

Prayer is a gift

For giving

And receiving

A blessing 

too often overlooked

but never overdone.

Pray without ceasing

Avoiding corruption

James 1:27

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Caring involves

rolling up our sleeves

diving in

making a difference.

It's often hands on

rough and gritty.

Not too effective

when we hold ourselves back

and try to care remotely.

But it's easy to get sucked in

become complicit.

It's easy to find our worth

maybe even our identity

in serving others.

And going that bit further

to help folk up

to enable

risks our sense of being.

It is that seduction

that poses a danger

a trap into which

we might fall.

There is a balance to be struck

and finding it allows us 

to be more effective

at restoring the rights and freedom

df others.

A time for clearing

1 Peter 2:1

The Living Stone and a Chosen People

​Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander.

That's a tall order

ridding oneself

of all malice

of guile

of insincerity

of envy

and slander

What will be left

but a gaping hole

in the places

where those things resided.

A gaping hole

into which can move

kindness

positive regard

Joy

compassion

earnestness

And still there would be room

for other positive qualities

Qualities that take energy

to cultivate

but which bring

their own growth

and capacity for expansion

A tall order.

Clearing the weeds

to allow beauty to grow.

Tender-hearted

1 Peter 3:8-9

Suffering for Doing Right

Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called—that you might inherit a blessing.

A tender heart

may be bruised

abused

manipulated

hurt

even broken.

But the ability

to be a blessing

outweighs all the risks.

And the strength there is

in being tender hearted

especially against the odds

compensates every slight

heals every hurt

and binds up

every brokenness.

Be challenged

Throw caution to the wind

And let your tender heart

shine through.

Be blessed.

And be a blessing.