No place to hide

Joshua 2:1-4

Then Joshua son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and spent the night there. The king of Jericho was told, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to search out the land.” Then the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come only to search out the whole land.” But the woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from.

Rahab

Another woman

whose courage

born of intuition

earned her a place

in the roll call.

 of saints

Another woman 

whose subversive action

changed the course

of the history

of God’s people

Another woman

who did not need to see 

the end of the story

but recognised the importance

of doing what was needed

in the moment.

Another woman

who would incur

speculation

and ostracisation

who would be judged

and condemned

Another woman

whose faith

informed her risk 

enabling her

to emerge from the shadows

embracing the vulnerability
of being noticed

in order to make a difference.

Rahab 
Another woman

who made history

by her story.

Beach conversations

Matthew 4:18-22

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

Follow me...

Lord, I’m not sure

You know that I love you

But...

Follow me...

Lord, it’s too much

I’m not good enough

Not patient enough

Not loving enough

Follow me...

Lord, it’s too complicated

Folk will judge me

Misunderstand me

Question my motives

Dissect my intentions

Follow me...

Lord, it’s too risky

I’m fine where I am

No need to rock the boat

Follow me...

Lord, we’ve been here before

And I know you won’t let it rest

Your will for me

is not resignation

or even contentment

Your will for me

is life in abundance

You know all that I don’t

And, what’s more,

 you go ahead,

preparing the way...

So with eyes squeezed shut,

Fists clenched in determination

and through gritted teeth

With kicking and screaming

and bucket loads of tears

I say Yes. 

Freed to abundance

Matthew 17:22-27
Jesus Again Foretells His Death and Resurrection
As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they were greatly distressed.
Jesus and the Temple Tax
When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does
your teacher not pay the temple tax?” He said, “Yes, he does.” And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?” When Peter said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, 
“Then the children are free. However, so that we do not give offence to them, go to the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.”

Lord, you know how to soften a blow

lighten a moment

Speaking of your death one moment

and fishing for a coin the next

Yet you never fail

to get your message across

whether by stark confrontation

or sublime absurdity

You bring humour into the nitty gritty

promising freedom

not from the daily grind itself

but pointing to joy that is to be found

not way off in the future

but present in our every day

You release us

not from conforming to

all that may be required of us

but from seeing that as the end game

Your perspective 

enables us to see

what matters

and in what we should invest 

and reminds us

of the abundant life

you offer 

May your divine grace and humour

lead us to know

life in all its fullness.

In the image of God

A prayer written for Sanctuary First in 2015

God who created the world 

and declared that creation was good,

bringing your skill and artistry to bear 

you created human beings,

in your image,

giving them a unique place in the universe

and in the order of creation.

Who, then, determines the parameters

of acceptance or rejection?

Who deems that some are suitable

while others are beyond the pale?

Who decides what degree of difference

is one that can be tolerated?

And what perceived impairment

requires cleansing or elimination?

God who made each of us in your own image,

celebrating amazing diversity and complexity,

You look on us with love beyond our imagining

You marvel at the wonder of all creation

You celebrate our uniqueness.

May we never look at others

and judge them less than ourselves.

May we celebrate all that you have created

and all that you continue to enable in us 

and accord that gift to others in every place and time.

May we never be distracted by gender or race 

or creed or colour or sexuality

or by anything that prevents us

from seeing your divine image 

at the heart of all your creation

and honouring all that you have created 

as a thing of great beauty

to be treasured 

in all its glorious wonder and diversity.

by Liz Crumlish

Before the storm

Matthew 14:22-23
Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone...

Alone with God

On a mountain top

In a garden

On the lake

At the shore

In the midst of a busy crowd...

Everyday is filled with opportunity

to spend time

alone with God

Calm and ordered space set aside

or snatched moments in frantic days

It’s the aftermath that is tricky

It’s knowing how often,

when Jesus left the disciples to pray

he returned to find them

sleeping or squabbling

panicking or failing

despondent or in despair

And, sometimes,

experiencing intimacy with God

serves to make us even more aware

of our propensity to fail

And fear kicks in

disabling the confidence we felt

second guessing the direction we discerned

convinced we’ll be a disappointment.

It is then that Christ reaches out

to take our hand

and look into our eyes

assuring us, once again:

You are enough

You are beloved of God.

May it be so.

Everyday Transfiguration

Mark 9:2-8
The Transfiguration
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

How we long to hold on to 

those fleeting glimpses

of the glory of God

How we crave the clarity

of hearing God’s voice

speak into our everyday

bringing together

and making sense

of those nudges that beguile

from left of field

Yet more often

clarity is manifest

as we come down from the mountain top

worked out in the nitty gritty

of life on the ground.

Refined in the fire of the everyday

Tested in the ordinary

And so we give thanks

for moments of transfiguration

and plead for awareness

and wisdom

and the gift

of interpreting

those things hidden in plain sight

that reveal to us

the presence of God

and that keep us alert

to the invitation 

to listen

and to journey with God

in our everyday.

Through the cloud

2018 Lent Installation at Southwark Cathedral by Susie McMurray: Doubt

Exodus 40:34-38
The Cloud and the Glory
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out on each stage of their journey; but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, before the eyes of all the house of Israel at each stage of their journey.

Where, today, do you meet God?

Where is your tabernacle

That sacred place

That holy ground

that may, in fact,

be very ordinary

Except 

Except - that God meets us there.

And how do you discern

when, once you have stepped aside,

to enter that holy place,

how and to what

God is calling?

For oft times it seems

that the nearer to God we move

the harder it is to make out

God’s purpose and calling

on our lives.

As though the cloud and the glory

obscure

the pathway we long to discern

And so we are forced,

like the Israelites

to wait it out

impatient though we are

to be moving along 

on our journey of faith.

Forced to cool our heels

and to wait with God

not passively 

maybe not even patiently 

but to wait 

until God leads us on again 

onto another stage

of the journey of faith.