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A Family Like Mine: Biblical Stories of Love, Loss, and Longing
https://bookstore.upperroom.org/Products/1921/a-family-like-mine.aspxWhom Shall I Fear: Urgent Questions for Christians in an Age of Violence
https://www.amazon.com/Whom-Shall-Fear-Questions-Christians/dp/0835819671-
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Author Archives: Rosalind C Hughes
Christ the King
The Son of Man, the king of kings, summons the nations of the world and mirrors back to them the ways that they have treated the image of God in their own people and in one another’s people; in all people made in the image of God. I find it striking that the question both groups ask, sheep and goats, is, When did we see you? Continue reading
Because all is not lost
I do not think that you are a harsh and grasping God, and there is nowhere to reap that you did not sow, whether with promise or with judgement; what, then, to make of this weeping and gnashing? If you are to be believed, the one who doesn’t recognize your … Continue reading
Oil
In the Hebrew scriptures, oil is a constant sign of God’s providence towards the people, and it is part of the tithe, the offering that the people offer back to God. In the New Testament parables, we see the good Samaritan pouring oil into the wounds of the man assaulted by bandits on the dangerous road Jerusalem and Jericho. Oil is a symbol both of loving God and of loving our neighbours. Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged blessing, Matthew 25:1-13, oil, parable of the bridesmaids, Year A Proper 27
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Anglican rosary for the victims of gun violence
A rosary (Anglican prayer beads) for the victims of gun violence, using a rosary with beads and cross made from rifle stock wood and gun barrel metal. Continue reading
A parable for the anxious
Her voice rasped like a struck match from crying out her wares: Oil! Get your oil here! Don’t run out. She spent her days like a candleburned at both ends, her core alight with the vision of a strip of lamplight creeping from beneath heavy … Continue reading
Blessed are those who mourn …
Blessedness is not about material success nor even the absence of suffering in this life: it is about walking ever more closely with God. The closer we come, the greater our understanding of the rewards of mercy, the heights of humility, the purity of love, the power of peace. So yes, blessed are those who mourn when God Themself is weeping. Continue reading
Posted in current events, holy days, sermon
Tagged All Saints, All Souls, beatitudes, grief, Matthew 5:1-12, war in the Holy Land
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Afterwords
Dear God, we cry, dear Lord, how much blood can humanity shed before we become something other than the body that you formed, and the spirit that you breathed, and the image that you called very good? My Christ, can … Continue reading
Posted in current events, gun violence
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Blessed
Blessed are those who know God’s poverty: the emptying out of all that is not God. Blessed are those who grieve with God, who know the sorrow of heaven, who nestle in God’s bosom. Blessed are those who have the mind of God, not … Continue reading
Stop the bleeding
Dear God,we cry, dear Lord,how much blood can humanity shedbefore we become something otherthan the body that you formedand the spirit that you breathedand the image that you calledvery good? My Christ,can we lay down our weaponsand crawl beneath your … Continue reading
Posted in current events, gun violence, poetry, prayer
Tagged Maine, mass shooting, war
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Regret
What happens when we stop asking questions? What if instead we had kept on, like a child of God asking why? why? but why? If we had trusted enough to stay in our cautious curiosity, allowed our anger, even outrage to feed a sceptical hope. He was our … Continue reading
over the water 