Not over yet…

 Lamentation 3:19-24

The thought of my affliction and my homelessness

is wormwood and gall!

My soul continually thinks of it

and is bowed down within me.

But this I call to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.”

In the silence of this day

when the crowd baying for blood

have gone home satisfied

to cherish their moment of victory

God does not rest from justice

Already hell is being harrowed - 

that work of pulling from the depths

those condemned and rejected is underway

There are those who imagine the fight is over

While God continues to work underground

Recovering and restoring the depth and vibrancy and colour

of all the long forgotten hues

that the creator endorsed

at the beginning of time

whispering to each:

The divine spark lives in you

You are beloved - and 

Resurrection is coming

May it be so.

(Liz Crumlish, Holy Saturday 2025)

Feast of Mary Magdalene

 John 20:1,14-18

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.

…She turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 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.’ ” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

I wonder how long…

How long

in the dark of that early morning

did Mary hold her delicious secret 

close to her heart

How long did she savour 

that gargantuan news

that he whom she accompanied 

in life and in death

chose her to be there for his rising

For those precious moments

in the dark of early morning

Mary alone 

held the news close

before she took to her heels

to proclaim resurrection

By the words of a woman

the gospel was preached

Thus it was

Is now

And ever shall be

Amen

No time for idle tales

 Luke 24:1-3, 8-11

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body.

Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.

This Easter, God knows, we need a miracle

We need more than a sign that death can be defeated

We need assurance that light will not be extinguished forever by darkness

This is no time for idle tales

How much do we believe in resurrection?

How far are we prepared to oppose the empire

that cannot stand to see its oppressive power defeated by love?

This is no time for idle tales

Throughout the world we see the evidence 

that empire is built on division and sustained in fear

using lies and deceit to shore up its shaky foundation

composed of layers of coercion and corruption

This is no time for idle tales.

How much are we prepared to resist?

To believe in one who was sacrificed by empire 

who plumbed the depths of hell

so that we might know:

This is no idle tale

It is a call for those who believe

in another power

in another kindom 

in the cumulative power of love

to keep on resisting the evil we see

with all that we have

for the love of one who gave all.

This is no idle tale.

(Liz Crumlish Easter 2022)

Noli me tangere (Do not hold on to me)

 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 assurance
that I continue to do your will
becoming exactly 
who you created me to be
For that is enough
I am enough

Noli me tangere