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A Family Like Mine: Biblical Stories of Love, Loss, and Longing
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Author Archives: Rosalind C Hughes
Little lower
God forbid that I should meetan angel face to face: the many eyeswould terrify, the beating wingsmight stop my heart; how wouldI hear their, “Do not fear,”let alone what may follow? Send me instead the dragonfly, fiercebut fragile, anointing the … Continue reading
Posted in holy days, poetry, prayer, Whom Shall I Fear?
Tagged #WhomShallIFear, angels, Michaelmas, St Michael and All Angels
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Envy is the enemy of the gospel
A sermon for Sunday, September 26 at the Church of the Epiphany, Euclid. In the readings, disciples of Moses and Jesus object to unauthorized deployment of the Spirit. In the news, images of border patrols chasing immigrants with horses, and … Continue reading
Posted in current events, lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged envy, grace, immigration, Jesus, peace, salt
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Who is the greatest?
Because I am no greater than my enemy; I am no more beloved of God than my neighbour; I am created no closer to the image of God than the face that I love the least. Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged child, greatness, Mark 9:30-37, Psalm 54, vengeance
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Opportunist
Robin alighted as soon as I mowed the first swathe of grass, an aspiring scavenger sifting the cuttings for prey. Undeterred by the turning blade, it tilted an eye as though to say, we are not so different, you and … Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, sermon preparation
Tagged greatest, greatness, Mark 9:30-37, Year B Proper 20
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But who do you say that I am?
This poem was first published at the Episcopal Cafe When Christ confronted the demons, they cried outin loud voices and with forked tongues,“We know who you are, Holy One, Son of God,hope of the nations and light of the world!”And … Continue reading
Vengeance is not ours
When we allow even small things to breed evil intentions in our hearts, to divide us from the humanity of another, we are headed for trouble. Jesus is heading us off, reminding us to stay close to God’s law: the law that begins with loving God, and ends with loving our neighbours as ourselves. To develop and feed habits of the heart and soul that lead to life, rather than to revenge. Continue reading
What we owe one another
If you have been in that line at the airport, you have seen the individuals and families pulled aside, sent to the back room, a cage of windows, to await further scrutiny after the line has been processed and dismissed. If you were in the line, your passport stamped, passed on to customs to collect your bags, you may have wondered what happened to those people in that side room, who they might be, and why they were there. Continue reading
To whom shall we go?
I do not know another way that leads to eternal life, in this life and the next. I do know that if I abide in him, however imperfectly, he will stay with me, for he is faithful, and merciful, and his love endures for ever. Continue reading
Prayer for a day when there are no words
I do not have words to imagine the prayers of the falling.It feels ironic to light a candlewhen fires burn freely and fast;to kneel as though the earth might otherwiseflee from beneath me.Breathing has becomean act of defiance. Baptism threatens to flood … Continue reading
Posted in current events, poetry, prayer
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On Spiritual Communion
Even if I could not yet receive the Bread and the Wine bodily, it was important beyond measure that they were consecrated, and that others, some-bodies, shared them on my behalf and enfolded me in their mysteries. Continue reading
Posted in sermon, spiritual autobiography
Tagged Communion, concomittance, Eucharist, Odo Casel
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over the water 