Re-membering

Luke 22:19-20
Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

Kneeling at the altar

with the bells and smells of liturgy

wafting all around

sidling up close

reaching up to be served

Or standing in a line

that snakes around the sanctuary

like the morning queue at Greggs or Starbucks

Or sitting in rows in pews

designed to induce passivity in their occupants 

with even the subversive elements of communion

diced and spliced and portioned

However we receive

Whatever our preference

Accepting a wafer

and sipping from the proffered cup

Or tearing huge chunks of bread

and glugging deep draughts of wine

Or taking the cube of bread
and thimbleful of grape juice

Nothing can tame

the rush of radical passion

and humility of the feast

that calls our name

and drags us into relationship

with one who

kicks pretence into touch

dispels niceties

and gets down to business

the business of love
and transformation.

Pouring love into every crack and crevice in us

holding and loving our woundedness 
and empowering us

to love and hold others.

That bread, that wafer 

That wine, that grape juice

were given
out of brokenness

ARE GIVEN

for the transforming of the world in love

We hold it in our hands

Taste it on our lips

and are fuelled by its power

in all our living and being.

And still - we are offered more

And still -there is more to give

We have what it takes

Christ gives what we need.

We do this

to remember him

Re-member him

Poetry and Parable

Judges 9:8-15

The trees once went out

to anoint a king over themselves.

So they said to the olive tree,

‘Reign over us.’

The olive tree answered them,

‘Shall I stop producing my rich oil

by which gods and mortals are honored,

and go to sway over the trees?’

Then the trees said to the fig tree,

‘You come and reign over us.’

But the fig tree answered them,

‘Shall I stop producing my sweetness

and my delicious fruit,

and go to sway over the trees?’

Then the trees said to the vine,

‘You come and reign over us.’

But the vine said to them,

‘Shall I stop producing my wine

that cheers gods and mortals,

and go to sway over the trees?’

So all the trees said to the bramble,

‘You come and reign over us.’

And the bramble said to the trees,

‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you,

then come and take refuge in my shade;

but if not, let fire come out of the bramble

and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’

This passage keeps drawing me back to have another look. It demands time. It wants to percolate and penetrate. It is beautiful poetry and an arresting parable, not often found in the Law and Prophets.

A parable shouted from the mountain top by Jotham as a rebuke to his brother Abimilech. A warning to the people who have just crowned Abimilech king, in defiance of God and in spite of the fact that he has just killed all but one of his 70 brothers (all sons of Gideon!) to achieve his monarchic ambition. God’s intention was that the people should live collaboratively, pooling resources, sharing wisdom, without the need for a king. When his father, Gideon, refused to be crowned king, Abimilech saw an opportunity to step up and satisfy the longing of the people to be ruled over by a king. He simply had to dispatch his brothers to clear the way. Abimilech’s ambition met the people’s longing and the combination was lethal. A sinister context for a gutsy parable.
And in the parable, I love the way each of the trees, in turn, is able to name their particular gifts and affirm their vocation - and their willingness to carry on doing what they do well and not be distracted from their task:
The olive tree affirms her task as producing beautiful oil. (The same oil that anoints kings!)
The fig tree is content to carry on producing her sweet fruit.
And the vine knows the value of the wine she produces and the effect it has on those who partake.
All are powerful and resilient, valued by self and others.
But I’m intrigued by the notion of the bramble, thorny, low growing, being the most likely to provide refuge and shade, the best contender to reign. How often does it turn out to be the very thing we overlook or even reject that takes precedence in the divine economy? The effort of getting beyond the prickly bits that might deter is worthwhile. Beyond the thorns there is beauty and welcome.
I’m left questioning, are we already fulfilling our vocation where we are or do we need to brave the thorns to find refuge in unlikely places? Is it either or - or both/and?

Faithful

1 Thessalonians 1:2-5

The Thessalonians’ Faith and Example

We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake.

Giving thanks

for those whose example

inspires and informs

the faith of those they touch

Friends

who, in everyday

bring hope

inspire faith

and share love

whose wisdom

enables perspective

instils calm

kindles Peace

and whose example

promotes ambition

to live out of embracing each 

as beloved of God.

In the midst

Luke 13:10-17

Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

Lord, while we are still arguing the toss

about rights and wrongs

about privilege and entitlement 

about form and decorum

you march in

and make a difference

While we’d rather sit around discussing

who’s in and who’s out 

and what inclusion entails

you extend your arms

to welcome all

While we set up procedures and protocols

and routines and rotas 

in order to serve

you get on

with transforming the muddle

Giving each a name

Welcoming all as family

Seeing and addressing need

despite what rules decree

You rewrite the rules

in favour of those who are unseen

those who are not heard

those who have become

simply part of the landscape

You rewrite the rules

in favour of inclusion

and compassion

and infinite possibility

You rewrite the rules

to include us 

Children of Abraham

Seen and loved by you

Seen and freed

to stand up straight

and embrace

the abundant life

you set before us.

Thanks be to God.

It’s not optional

Matthew 22:34-40
The Greatest Commandment
When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Lord, how often we put you to the test

Not because you haven’t been clear

but because we’re stalling

Your command is simple

- It’s application anything but.

So we play for time

We ask questions

We debate

We look for nuance

And you sit with us

in our struggle

in our avoidance

your drumming fingers

the only sign of your impatience

You sit with us 

as we look for loopholes

or exemptions 

or any other way out

of obedience.

You sit with us 

until we catch your eye

and, seeing there only love,

we fall silent

And in that silence

when we have exhausted argument

and run out of excuses

In that silence

remains one thing

A command

Not an option 

In that silence

we find

Love

Power dynamic

Judges 9:8-15
The trees once went out
to anoint a king over themselves.
So they said to the olive tree,
‘Reign over us.’
The olive tree answered them,
‘Shall I stop producing my rich oil
by which gods and mortals are honoured,
and go to sway over the trees?’
Then the trees said to the fig tree,
‘You come and reign over us.’
But the fig tree answered them,
‘Shall I stop producing my sweetness
and my delicious fruit,
and go to sway over the trees?’
Then the trees said to the vine,
‘You come and reign over us.’
But the vine said to them,
‘Shall I stop producing my wine
that cheers gods and mortals,
and go to sway over the trees?’
So all the trees said to the bramble,
‘You come and reign over us.’
And the bramble said to the trees,
‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you,
then come and take refuge in my shade;
but if not, let fire come out of the bramble
and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’

Power may enable

lending strength

drawing out wisdom

enhancing all that is already present

weaving together 

gifts and desires

facilitating harmony

 Creator and creation

working together as one

Power may corrupt

taking us from that to which we are called

bringing out the worst

instead of the best

scorching all in its path

trampling

devouring

leaving no room

for anything other

than singular vision

and purpose

We choose the dynamic

by the way we hold power

holding on tightly

or openly sharing

and by the way we respond

to the power of others

being caught up in drama

or quietly subverting

Choosing to enable or corrupt

The dynamic of power

Patient, Persistent God

Judges 6:14-18
Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you.” He responded, “But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” The Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike down the Midianites, every one of them.” Then he said to him, “If now I have found favor with you, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. Do not depart from here until I come to you, and bring out my present, and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay until you return.”

God, you don’t make it easy

Especially when we are slow on the uptake

In the depths of our doubt 

You shake up our complacency

When we despair of all that we see around us

You remind us of the power that we have 

to change the world

When we opt for an easier life

You won’t let us settle for less

than you call us to be

When we ask for a sign

You give us a whole shed load

so that, even with our eyes closed,

and our ear pods obscuring 

the sound of your voice

you find other ways

to make us sit up and take notice

You get beyond

what we can see

or hear

or even understand

And all those little cairns

that we have so carefully constructed

on our journey through life

the pieces we have brought

from this place

and from that

to build our little piles of solidity

You slowly erode

or sometimes sweep away

until we embrace the movement 

and rediscover the rhythm

of you, the God of Improv 

as you teach us new steps

and introduce us

to a whole new dance. 

And, best of all.

when we ask you to wait

for us to catch up

You remind us

that you have been sitting with us

all the time.

Patient, Persistent God