What kind of Christ?

Gentle, meek, mild, insipid.

What kind of Saviour is that?

Wishy-washy, ineffective.

Not someone we’d respect.

So why is it shocking to discover

that Jesus is a man of passion,

seized with righteous anger,

wielding a whip,

driving out those

who drive out others,

and make God’s house exclusive?

Why should we be surprised

that Jesus doesn’t just speak out

but takes action to ensure

that all people, everywhere

have access to the love of God?

And that, following this feisty man

means that we too

must be people of action.

Out of the greyness

Some days, on first inspection, appear unremittingly grey. But on closer examination, it is possible to find some colour - in an unexpected moment of humour, in a surprising smile, in a gift of a revelation, in sunshine through the clouds or a rainbow through the rain.
But we have to look carefully to see such gifts.
They come unbidden but are fleeting.
They are transitory but transforming.
So be on the lookout for the bright spots in whatever your life holds right now.
And may colour invade and brighten your days.

Journeying on...

An aha moment 

that moment of startling discovery 

when we think we know 

who Jesus is. 

It is awesome and reverent, 

a moment we just want to revel in 

and enjoy. 

But at that very moment of revelation 

it all comes crashing down around our ears 

and, thinking we've arrived, 

 we are sent crashing off 

on a whole new journey. 

A journey that upends everything 

that discombobulates. 

For Christ refuses to be pinned down

refuses any label we might stick on him. 

It is his way to keep us journeying 

to a new awareness 

an unfathomed truth 

a destination that is always 

just a little further on, 

a quest that keeps us restless 

that brings shocking revelations 

that upsets our complacency 

and denies us any sense 

of having arrived. 

For this is the Messiah.

Liz Crumlish Lwnt 2012

Gossiping the gospel

a wee take on Sunday's gospel - Jesus cleansing the temple:

Eeh, Molly, did ye see the state o' they white doves when they bailed it oot o' the temple the day?
Aye, Jan, they're usually that stuck up and well turned oot - but yon Jinty looked as though she'd been dragged through a hedge, feathers a' awry, smudges on her breestie, she looked as if she got a richt fright!
Oh aye, Sadie's cousin's bidie -in telt shug's mate Erchie that it looked as if a cat had got in wi' a' the doos - feathers fleein' everywhere, and the racket o' a' the squawkin' - this mad lookin' rabbi evidently took a wee hissy fit, cowped a' the tables, opened a' the cages and chased men, women and beasts for their lives - mutterin' somethin' aboot his faither's hoose. Well let me tell ye Molly, I kent his faither!
Don't know whit got intae him or whit he wis up tae but in 10 minutes he managed to tear doon empires that huv been goin' on for years - Auld faither Cohen has had that wee corner stall since his faither left it tae him when that mule put paid tae his dancin' days.
Aye Jan, I wunner whit it wis a' aboot? Whit got intae him? I mean, I know it's like runnin' the gauntlet every time ye try and get tae the priest - no' that us wimmen are allowed that close anyway - an' ye always leave the temple wae an empty purse, but that's jist the way it is and has been fer years. Ye can like it or lump it.
Ay, Molly, but Erchie's big son's puttin' aboot this notion that it wisnae aboot the temple at a' - that the mad rabbi wis makin' a point aboot how fowk pit upon ane anither an' hiv loast sicht o' whits important - daein tae ithers whit ye'd want them tae dae to you. He says that we shouldnae be chargin' fowk tae get tae God - that God's fer everybody,withoot exception.
He says the rabbi was sae mad because the temple's jist goin' the way o' the world.
Aye Jan, anither conspiracy theory - never mind that - ye don't show yer emotions in the temple - ye put up and shut up - that rabbi's jist upset the apple cart big time.
Apple cart, Molly, Ah didnae know they were sellin' apples as well noo doon the temple.
Aw Jan, I dinnae mean apples apples - I mean the whole barrel - everythin's upended noo.
Aye, yer right there Molly - upended it is.
We might never get it back to how it wis.
But that widnae be a bad thing - Aye - no' a bad thing at a'.

Spring cleaning

Last time we visited the swan pond, the swans had five cygnets with them and were being responsible parents, protecting their brood. This weekend, there was no sign of the cygnets and this parent was very busy preening, taking up some absurd positions in an effort to get her feathers all spruced up.
Those times when we are able to lay down the burdens we carry for a time give us the opportunity for some self care - a fruitful Lenten discipline.

Times and seasons

As we journey through the Christian seasons this year, through Advent onto Christmas and then Epiphany onto Lent, I  have been very conscious of the movement from the crib to the cross. God's revealing presence leaving the stable, touching lives all the way to the cross.

Epiphany took on a new dimension when I travelled to New Orleans, where they begin Mardi Gras celebrations on 6th January (the feast of the Epiphany) right through until Ash Wednesday arrives and Lent begins. We tend to overlook the length and importance of Epiphany, a season of revealing light, a season when God lets us in on the wonder of the gift that was given in Bethlehem when God became one of us. The baby whose birth we celebrated just a short time ago, is the man with whom we now tarry in the wilderness of Lent, the man whose passion and death we will remember before emerging into the joy of Easter.

God with us through birth, through life and death and through Resurrection.

The Chrismon tree that the young folks decorated during advent and on whose branches we hung stars with the names of all those we were missing at Christmas time has already been transformed into a cross that will grace our sanctuary through Lent and Easter, a tangible reminder of that journey from crib to cross, a reminder that God IS in all of life. 

Change

BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD!