Called to keep on showing up.

Luke 23:46-49
Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last. When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent.” And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts. But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

How often our calling

is not what we imagine

not the drama 

we may have envisaged

not the obvious

or even the logical

but, simply,

the most effective

 - to show up.

To show up

and to keep showing up

to bear witness

to all that we do not understand

to all that we cannot change

to heartbreak

and anguish

To show up

even

and especially

when we feel impotent

Because in every trial

(and in every joy)

God relies on those

who show up

those who bring all of themselves

to all of the moment

Those who will bear witness

Those who will not turn away

Those who will stand alongside

Those whose vulnerability 

is laid bare for others

Those who risk 

and in the risking

invite possibility

which begins

with showing up.

Image of God

Romans 8:26-28

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to God’s purpose.

Don’t tell me it can’t be done

I’ll say: Hold my beer...

Don’t tell me there’s only one way

I’ll show you another five...

Don’t tell me my anatomy 

inhibits my leadership

and the ability

for others to learn from 

my hard won experience

I’ll simply keep on demonstrating

that, actually, I have what it takes

Because... God

God calls

God equips

God enables

God empowers

Regardless

of gender identity

or sexual orientation

or anatomy

or authority

or rank

To dismiss me

is to dismiss

One whom God calls beloved

One on whom God bestows grace

One whom God has 

Called 

Equipped

Enabled

Empowered

One to whom God says

Hold my beer...

While I accomplish

those things

folks say

cannot be done

Because God...

(A woman with a beer in her hand)

Beyond the memories

2 Timothy 1:5-7
I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.

As leaves fall

and replenish the earth

letting go of their hold on life

yet still giving

of all that enriched and sustained

passing on

to a new generation

their gifts

that continue to nourish

and renew

So those who have gone before us
our mothers
and our grandmothers
our Eunice and Lois
or Cathy and Mary
or...

those from whom we gleaned

the stories of faith

those in whom we witnessed

the wonders of grace

continue to enrich our lives

as we remember

their goodness

and their love

And we take on the mantle 

of the story tellers

the ones who 

live out faith today

for a new generation

the ones who

keep memories alive

who keep the light of faith

kindled

in the season of darkness

until the dawn creeps in

once more 

and the light

transforms

fallen leaves

into harbingers

of faith

and hope

and love
the gifts of yesterday
for today
and tomorrow
Rekindled
in every generation

Pervasive wisdom

Wisdom of Solomon 7:22-26
for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me.
There is in her a spirit that is intelligent, holy,
unique, manifold, subtle,
mobile, clear, unpolluted,
distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen,
irresistible, beneficent, humane,
steadfast, sure, free from anxiety,
all-powerful, overseeing all,
and penetrating through all spirits
that are intelligent, pure, and altogether subtle.
For wisdom is more mobile than any motion;
because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.
For she is a breath of the power of God,
and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;
therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her.
For she is a reflection of eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the working of God,
and an image of God’s goodness.

Transforming wisdom

Bringing the hidden into the light

Making the unseen visible

Ceaselessly revealing

what is beautiful

and true

Calling forth

what is tentative

to reveal conviction

Breathing power

into vulnerability

releasing truth

and goodness

and insight

Gently unveiling

hopes and longings

carefully protected

from the harsh light of judgment

Encouraging dreams

to emerge

and be entered into

playfully

creatively

nurtured

and sustained

by wisdom

that does not diminish

but enhances

all that is

a reflection

of the light of God

Blazing a trail

of renewal

and emergence

by its pervasive

life enhancing

spirit

flowing

out of the heart of God

Enhancing

and emboldening

the journey of faith

mobilising tiny steps

of possibility

into leaps of  adventure

fuelled by risk

made possible

by the knowledge

of the accompaniment 

of the unshakeable 

wisdom of God.

Finding faith

Luke 18:1-8
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’ ” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Where will faith be found?

Not in the rights denying

scarcity mongering 

policies of our governments...

Where will faith be found?

Not in the strategy driven

rule keeping

efforts of our institutions...

Where will faith be found?

Not in the desperate

programme-centric flailing

of our churches...

Where will faith be found?

In the acts of everyday people

who see and respond 

to an opportunity

to make a difference

in their neighbourhood

Those who create beauty

by eschewing what is deemed

right and proper

choosing, instead

to take risks

to make music

to dance

to respond to the rhythm 

that is all around...

Attuned to the rhythm of God

our senses are awakened

to the gifts

and the needs

of our neighbour.

And there, will faith be found. 

Do not hold on

John 20:16-17

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”

It’s the most natural thing in the world

to want to hold on...

To hold on 

to whatever is in front of us

because who knows

what the future will bring

To hold on

to what we know

because we fear the unknown

To hold on

to what feels good

and to what brings challenge

because alternatives 

cause us to be anxious.

Jesus’ encounter with Mary

reminds us

that only by letting go

will we experience

whatever God offers next.

Only by letting go

will we be enabled

to follow

where Christ has gone

and experience

a new way of being

that comes from letting go.
God, enable me
to be present in every moment
To take my cues from you
To discern what is mine to do
and to let go of those things
that do not further your kingdom
And, in the releasing
or relinquishing
may I know 
growth not loss
peace and not yearning
and the sheer joy of knowing
that I continue to do your will
becoming exactly 
who you created me to be
For that is enough
I am enough

Passing through...

Luke 19:1-7
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.”

Passing through...

Jesus made a difference 

Passing through...

Jesus stopped

long enough to change a life

Passing through...

Jesus looked up

saw Zacchaeus

Engaged him

Broke bread with him

Showed him his place

in the kingdom of God

Passing through...

Jesus upset others

Challenging their sense of entitlement

Thwarting their notion of justice

Upending their picture of decency

Passing through...

Jesus brought into focus

the marginalised

the overlooked

the rejected

Passing through...

Jesus uncovered the hidden

Called forth truth

Pronounced forgiveness

Proclaimed salvation

Brought reconciliation

Restored community

All while passing through...

Thanks be to God