2020 Reflections

 

Psalms 139:7-12

Where can I go from your spirit?

Or where can I flee from your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, you are there;

if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.

If I take the wings of the morning

and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,

even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me fast.

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light around me become night,”

even the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is as bright as the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

In a year that held darkness

we give thanks for gifts of light

In a year of loss we give thanks

for relationships strengthened

for love borne out

in myriad ways that made a difference

For all the signs of God

in those we encountered 

those who held out faith

when our own wavered

and those for whom we were enabled

to be companions on the way

We give thanks for the rediscovery

of gifts we had laid aside

forgotten in their familiarity

that became precious once more

as they became harder to reach

and all the more longed for

And in our thanksgiving

we embrace the wisdom revealed 

that, hopefully we won’t let go so easily

as we forge a new future

diminished by loss

yet strengthened by shared experience

that reminds us

that love is stronger than death

and light penetrates darkness

and that there is no place

that takes us beyond God’s reach.

May our reflection

continue to enable insight

changing the way we embrace the future

in the knowledge that we are held

always in the love and light of God.

Beyond lament

It seems to me that just one of the purposes of lament

might be the enabling of a re-orientation

Naming loss and fear may be the first steps

to realising hope and potential

Lament is a necessary passing place

in which we must rest for a time

before navigating whatever lies before us

A passing place that allows us

to move at a slower pace than those around us

And, like any passing place

it is not somewhere to languish

or to linger longer than necessary

It is a temporary shelter in which we glimpse

some perspective on the journey we are on

that enriches the way ahead.

Our openness to lament may determine

how we move forward into a landscape

that is littered with new and emerging features

that have replaced familiar landmarks

And, as we grieve the known and loved

we unwittingly make space 

to cautiously embrace 

a new way forward

A way we did not anticipate or choose

but a road we will traverse

with rawness and realness 

with vigilance and vulnerability 

with grittiness and grace 

making space for those

who also need to use

the passing places of lament along the way

until, together, we become re-orientated

to a new hope for a new journey.

May it be so. 

Christmas 2020

Like 1:35

The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 

This Christmas...

In our scaled down gatherings

and our pared back traditions

Will there be any more room in our lives

for the Christ child?

As, out of love,

we shelter in place

and, out of doors,

we wear our masks

and keep our distance

Will Emmanuel - God with us

inhabit the spaces between?

And, in a subdued celebration of incarnation

will we hear any better

angel voices

and shepherd’s stories

and a mother’s song

proclaiming peace on earth

and justice for all -

Where the lowly are lifted up

and the rich are sent away empty?

Will we kneel at the manger 

and see in the eyes

of the baby who is God

the Christ who challenges us

to open our hearts

to love

and our minds

to change

and our hands

to serve all

on whom God’s favour rests?

And will we recognise

and give thanks for the gifts

of those who watch and wait

who tend the sick

and feed the hungry

who shelter the homeless

and comfort the lonely?

As God is born for us

will God be born in us

the hope of the world

bringing light for today?

May it be so...

 

The Longest Night 2020

 The light shines in the darkness

In the darkness

when masks slip

and grief is allowed to surface

when the chill of loss and fear

burrow their way

into fragile

and vulnerable souls

rendering them

exposed and bereft

Light whispers:

Love lasts forever.

In the darkness

when memories taunt

instead of comfort

when regrets triumph

over achievements

when despair

is a persistent nudge

and loneliness

is all consuming

Light whispers:

Love lasts forever

In the darkness

when confidence wanes

and hope takes flight

and faith is questioned

when nothing seems to relieve

the sustained onslaught

of grim news

and thwarted plans

Light whispers: 

Love lasts forever

May the light of love

carry us through

the longest night 

sustaining our spirits

until we glimpse

a brave new dawn

Believe

 Luke 1:45

Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled

Despite all the signs to the contrary

God’s purposes are fulfilled

Despite darkness and death

God’s light shines through

Despite loss and despair

God’s hope endures

Despite sorrow and mourning

God’s joy breaks through

Despite conflict and war

God’s peace will break out

Believing

not because of

but in spite of 

all that we see around us

that the gift of God

for all the world is

Faith

Light

Hope 

Joy

Peace

Wrapped up in the birth of a child

God with us.

Advent 4 - Do not be afraid

 Luke 1:30-35

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.

In the midst of fear

swamped by powerful emotions

Mary, who became mother of God

took courage in both hands

and offered: Here I am

Mary acceded, not out of meekness or naïveté

but in boldness and the fierceness of love

As we approach the Incarnation

in the midst of pandemic, 

with fear all around and emotions overwhelming

how can we offer our: Here I am

Offering, not by repressing our fear

or denying our emotion

but, in the midst of those

dredging up a vestige of faith

Faith that acknowledges

wherever we are

whoever we are

God’s invitation to us

is generous and grace filled:

to be midwives of God for this day

In the midst of the trauma in which we live

may we muster

Courage

Boldness

Grace

and

Fierce love

offering to God: Here I am

Mary did you know?

You can find daily Advent reflections “Travelling Light” here.

Luke 1:46-48

Mary’s Song of Praise

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,

for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.

Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

When Mary pushed her son

from her womb

into the waiting arms of the world

in all its darkness

and neediness

was her heart heavy

and her throat tight

and her eyes full of unshed tears?

As she put him to her breast

and bore the pain and wonder

of nurturing new life

while others came and went

to marvel at the birth,

did her fear for this child

constrict her heart and her lungs?

And as her fear was confirmed 

by wise men and women

prophesying that this boy child

would pierce her soul

did she smile sweetly

and let others revel in the joy of his birth

while her heart was breaking into pieces?

Did she know that she would travel

from the pain of bearing a child

through the agony of labour- 

(make no mistake

God did not have that covered!)

Did she endure those pains

knowing she must confront 

the trauma of a son

who left home early

to be about the business of God, 

a son who did not return weekly

with his laundry

or looking for a good feed

but who took to the road

and kept on going,

because Gods business was

a business that involved

itinerant living

hanging out with those labelled losers

and upsetting the institutions of the day

and, ultimately,

involved dying on a cross.

Mary, the mother of God

endured so much more 

than the pain that is simply a part

of mothering a son

that pain of birthing and letting go

that mothers have always borne.

And she knew.

From the moment she said yes to God

Mary knew.

Still she said Yes.

Here I am

 Luke 1:38

Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” 

Here I am:

I may have taken a circuitous route

ducked and dived

dallied in the odd cul-de-sac

meandered in the occasional blind alley

ignored the sat nav to pursue my own path

off the beaten track

Yet

Here I am

the servant of the Lord

Called and chosen

Shown favour

with no presumptions

no compulsion

Called and chosen

to serve

and given grace

to fulfil that calling

to be

the servant of the Lord

Let it be with me

Not so much resignation

as determination

resolve

stepping up

and stepping into

all that God reveals

along the way 

Let it be with me

According to your word

Living into

the promise

and the favour

of God

who calls

and equips

compels 

and enables

who strides ahead

and walks beside

and persistently affirms

I am for you.

Here I am

the servant of the Lord

Let it be with me

according to your word.

Light expectations

 You can find daily Advent reflections “Travelling Light” here.

Every year, I find myself longing for Advent

Longing for a season of waiting

Longing to hunker down

in the chill of winter here in the west

Waiting

Quietly

Expectantly

to see what God’s up to

Longing to be surprised

by glimpses of God

at work in our world today.

Sometimes I have to pay close attention

Other times, it takes little focus

Always God appears.

In this year of disruption

there has been a lot of waiting

Of anticipation

Of expectation

Of hope

Of disappointment

And so this Advent

feels more familiar than ever

yet no less welcome

A time to wait and to wonder

to peer through the gloom expecting light

even and especially

when the darkness is pervasive 

And, possibly, one thing I’ve learned

in this year of disruption

is how little it matters

whether I am ready 

or willing

or receptive

God appears

and hunkers down with us

on the days when we notice

and those when we don’t

Persistently loving 

Holding the light

until we’re ready to see

God who dwells with us

Convicted

 John 4:40-42

So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.”

It started with a thirst

A basic need

And led to an encounter

An encounter, if truth be told

That she'd hoped to avoid

Yet, as her bucket plumbed the depths

drawing up life giving water

So her encounter dredged up

all manner of things

she could never have anticipated

even in her wildest dreams

A man who engaged her in conversation

Who answered all her questions

And met all her challenges

A man who told her all about herself

A Messiah who revealed

truth to a stranger

and set off a cataclysm of change

in the Samaritan woman

and in those to whom she witnessed

Not just through testimony

but through personal conviction

as people experienced for themselves

Life-giving water

from a well

that never runs dry

Encounter, Transformation, Renewal, Commitment

A call to discipleship

made new in the water of life.

Validated

John 4:39

Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” 

Our validation comes

not from any authority

or institution

but from those we serve

those in whose lives

we participate

making a difference

not by our brilliance

but by our presence

Showing up 

time and again

with empty hands

and full hearts

Knowing ourselves

called and commissioned

loved and sent by God

who deems us enough 

who created us to be

in relationship

holding space 

for one another

Validated in service