Invitation to dance

 John 6:66-69

Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

When we are discouraged

Ground down

Finding it harder and harder to dredge up hope

in a system that seems determined to stifle

What brings us back

to our sense of vocation?

What enables us, even as we bind up our wounds

and pray through our disappointment that feels so familiar

to hear the voice of God

calling us by name

reaching through the hurt and frustration

to whisper anew

You are my beloved

Follow me

Those words penetrate

the core of our being

and drag us back 

to what we know

and to the One who knows us

And we are gradually restored to the rhythm

of the God who invites us to dance

Written in the dust

 For Ash Wednesday

We gather up the crosses from last year’s palms

and set them alight to create ash

so that we may remember

that we are dust and to dust we shall return

While in the rubble of communities destroyed by earthquake

no reminder is needed of the fragility of life

We mix the ashes with oil

and wear them on our foreheads

to symbolise our need to repent

While those who live in the grime

of war ravaged cities

wear their weariness

and their courage

in their determination to survive another day

Will our rituals go beyond ancient symbol

and connect us with the dust of the earth

that cries out for justice

and compassion

dust that spells out faith

in the goodness of creation

dust that holds out hope

that justice shall prevail

dust shot through with love

for the healing of the world

Liz Crumlish 2023

On St Brigid’s Day

 

A prayer on St Brigid’s Day

As I dipped my hand 

in the well of eternal youth

that it is said was blessed by St Brigid

and splashed the cooling water on my face

my prayer was not for youthfulness

but for wisdom

for peace

and for laughter

For the spirit of Brigid

and her divine feminine energy

That same Brigid

who turned water into beer

who prayed for an end to suffering 

Who cared for children

who welcomed women

I pray for her humour that disarmed

so much of the patriarchy around her

I pray for some of her indefatigable spirit

that brings newness every day

and is filled with compassion

and tenderness 

for all of creation

And, this I know - there is always room for more beer

Audaciously beloved!

 Matthew 3:16-17

And when Jesus had been baptised, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

The Spirit always shows up

And her presence 

is as disruptive today

as it was 

when Jesus was baptised by John

Baptised in the face of oppression and despair

Baptised in the grimness of life

For Baptism always proclaims the love 

and the mystery of God

and the presence of the unquenchable Spirit

Whenever baptism is offered:

At the beginning of life

as a symbol 

of hope and promise,

As a rite of passage

building on family tradition,

As a response to faith

that has grown slowly and surely,

At the hesitant request of  a beautiful 93 year old saint

embarrassed  to admit

that she had never been baptised,

Or with parents 

anxious about their newborn’s hold on life,

Whether sprinkled,

Dunked

Immersed

or with the gentlest whisper 

of a touch

Always, always, always.

the Holy Spirit

makes herself known

as angels gather

to sing a Gloria

declaring the audacity and wonder of God

who calls us

Beloved 

Reading the signs

 

Matthew 2:1-2

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”

The Magi persisted

in following their star

fulfilling their hopes

and dreams and calling.

Yet, even at journey’s end,

they remained alert to the wisdom 

that they should go home by another way.

For discernment is a process

of sifting and weighing

of staying in touch with the signs all around

of listening deeply to the still small voice

that risks being drowned out 

by the clamour of power or desire

and of being prepared to change direction

Therein lies Epiphany -

The awakening and the arrival

and the alacrity to respond with humility

when everything changes.

(Liz Crumlish Epiphany 2023)

Go gently

 Go gently

Let us enter the new year with curiosity

Curiosity that insists that we listen attentively

to hear another’s story

for each story matters

and uniquely contributes to the whole

Let us enter the new year with compassion

Compassion that enables us to care for self and others

embracing our shared humanity with compassion

that brings insight and affords space to care

Let us enter the new year with courage

Courage that enables us to be honest in our vulnerability

acknowledging the weariness and fear that often lurks

beneath our facade of strength

Curiousity, Compassion, Courage

Companions that will accompany us gently

into a new year

(Liz Crumlish December 2022)

Into the darkness

 

Isaiah 9:2

The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

those who lived in a land of deep darkness—

on them light has shined.

The Christ child comes to us

in the dark

For God is no stranger to darkness

And the light that shines

is the light of knowing

that there is one

who knows that darkness

from the inside out

One who does not fear the darkness

or leave us to it

but who comes to us

and stays with us

Stays with us in our loss and grieving

Stays with us in our fear and anger

Stays with us in our impotence and confusion

Stays with us whether our darkness is visible

or carefully masked from others

The Christ child comes to us

and stays with us 

in the dark