Digesting the word

 Jeremiah 15:16

Your words were found, and I ate them,

and your words became to me a joy

and the delight of my heart;

for I am called by your name,

O Lord, God of hosts.

Still, today, O God

you prevail upon us

to eat your words.

And your call 

is every bit as uncompromising

unpalatable

bad for digestion

as it has been

in every generation.

With your law of love

tattooed boldly on our hearts

you call us to

vomit love

and belch compassion

to exude justice from every pore

And, when we are empty, 

in need of sustenance,

to return to you

sustainer of our being

to humbly seek

replenishment

so that your word

becomes life

as we live in the light 

of the God 

whose name is love

whose food

is the bread of life

broken and shared

for all the world

You offer us the nourishment

of bread freshly baked 

attracting us with the tantalising aroma

that whets our appetite

and draws us back

time and again.

You bid us take and eat

not crumbs from the table

but the fresh portion

that you offer daily

nourishing our souls

with bread

and with your love

in word and in action

that changes us

from the inside out

and then

called by your name

sustained by your goodness

you bid us share

that which you have freely given.

In their own right

 

Exodus 1:15-17

The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, “When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live.” But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live.

Celebrating Shiphrah and Puah

Hebrew midwives who chose God over the king

Who chose love over fear

Who chose life over death

These powerful women deserve

not to simply be a prologue or a prequel 

to the life of Moses

or the story of the Exodus

these women demand

to be celebrated

for who they were

Today’s “nasty women”

Women who persisted

Women who refused 

to collude with power

or submit to oppression

and who used their gifts and skills 

to set in motion

a revolution

Shiphrah and Puah

Say their names

Celebrate their lives

Women of substance

in the mission of God.

Who do you say you are?

 Matthew 16:13-15

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

The masters tools will never dismantle the masters house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change. (Audre Lord: The Masters Tools Will Never Dismantle the Masters House)

Who do you say I am? asks Jesus

And, in our response to that question

lies the secret 

not just of our recognition

of the Son of God

but of our own identity

How we define the Messiah

belies how we define ourselves.

Are we prepared to embrace

Our power

Our vulnerability?

Are we prepared to voice

Our doubts 

and our certainty?

Are we prepared to be

the sassy

mouthy

provocative

beings

we were created to be?

Are we prepared to be too much for some

and not enough for others?

Are we prepared

to delight

and to disappoint?

Created in the image of God

who names us Beloved

and who calls us

to bring our whole selves

and nothing less

into the arena

The question: Who do you say I am?

demands that we answer

Who do you say you are?

And then step up

and step into

our change making role

holding space

for all our sisters

for the changing

and the healing 

of the world.

It matters!

Nevertheless she persisted

 

Matthew 15:28

Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

The persistence of a woman

who refused to be set aside

who refused to settle for less

who refused to be silenced

And in her persistence

she expanded the notion

of mercy

and compassion

and justice for all

birthing a revolution

of access

to the kingdom of God

Even the Messiah

needed to be challenged

to reject the patriarchal default

of exclusion

and embrace

a new way

that says

Women matter

and

All are welcome

Wholehearted Beauty

“Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened. Don't open the door to the study and begin reading. Take down the dulcimer. Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” (Rumi 13th Century)

It is the struggle of the Stradivarius tree—the struggle for water, for light, and for space—that makes it uniquely qualified to be crafted into a beautiful violin. (The Power of Belonging Will Van Der Hart, Rob Waller)

The trees at the edge of the forest

that have not had to struggle

for water and air

whose branches are plentiful

whose leaves are many

are too full of knots

to make beautiful instruments

Only those that have struggled

Forced to endure darkness

Forced to grow thin and tall 

Forced to eschew branches 

to occupy less space

Forced to seek the light

those are the trees

Chosen

to be fashioned

into beautiful instruments

For beauty insists

that we go beyond what we see

that we persistently look

for that which is considered impossible

that we look deep within

and call forth

an ancient wisdom

that refuses to settle for ordinary

While beautiful music 

requires discipline

many hours 

of patiently rehearsing

the notes on the page

laying each one down

allowing even the discords 

to find their place

Until

from the grit 

of persistence

transformation occurs

and out of brokenness

emerges beauty

forged in love

sustained by care.

A wholehearted offering 

to beautify the world.

 

Choosing silence

 

When silence is a choice, it is an unnerving presence. When silence is imposed, it is censorship.

Terry Tempest Williams (When Women Were Birds)

Choosing to be silent

Not through fear

or passivity 

or at the whim of others

But choosing silence

to maintain relationship

and to channel the energy

of debate

into making a difference

instead of an argument.

Choosing silence

not as an easy way out

but as a considered choice

that will have greater effect.

Choosing silence

not to withhold information

but to discern

a way forward together

that holds the promise

of partnership in the future.

Choosing silence

as presence

Taking hold of the censorship

Reframing

in a new

and powerful light.

Silence may be

IS

 a choice.

Holy anger

Jeremiah 31:6

For there shall be a day when sentinels will call

in the hill country of Ephraim:

“Come, let us go up to Zion,

to the Lord our God.”

“The job of a sentinel is to scan the horizon. To look. To discern. To see what is coming. To interpret. To guide. To announce. To warn.”  Stephen Cottrell, On Priesthood 

“They are to be messengers, sentinels and stewards of the Lord”

(Common Worship, Ordination Services)

Sentinels everywhere

Scanning the horizon

Interpreting the signs

Warning

Announcing 

Guiding

Sentinels everywhere

Were they always there?

And our busyness

prevented us from noticing?

Or has pandemic 

flushed them out?

Sentinels everywhere.

What are they discerning?

What are they announcing?

Of what are they warning?

And is anyone paying attention?

Sentinels everywhere

Not all of whom can be trusted

Not all of whom should be followed

Yet it is still worth 

listening carefully

for that one voice

that pierces deeply

through all our defences

signalling for us

a way forward

Not built on whim

or voyeurism

or fancy

but on a solid foundation

of grace that inhabits

and love that transforms

Pay attention 

to the Sentinel

that gets beyond your defences

not to confirm your complacency

but to shake up your heart

and stir up turmoil

in the core of your being

For then you will know yourself

propelled

on the path you must follow

to a place

that is not yet known

and in the journey

will you discover

the gift of holy anger

that sustains and equips you

for the new work

to which you are called.