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Author Archives: Rosalind C Hughes
Making room
Still, into this tight and griping world, Jesus is born, with the effortful but determined, sometimes complicated but unanswerable, slow but urgent pangs of labour, the contract between heaven and earth that will not be denied. God finds room, becoming small enough to be swaddled and laid in a manger, as the glory of the new covenant splits open the skies and lets the angels loose. Continue reading
Dreamers
On the night before Jesus died, his closest friend denied three times that he even knew the man. In the nights before Jesus was born, Joseph dreamed. Would we be ready to stake our reputation on the acknowledgement that yes, Jesus is the Son of God; that yes, the way of the Cross, the way of self-giving, selfless, vengeance-denying love is the way to life, liberty, and the pursuit of heaven; that yes, Jesus, born of Mary, is God Incarnate, Emmanuel, God with us? Continue reading
Posted in advent meditations, holy days, lectionary reflection, sermon, story
Tagged Advent, Incarnation, Joseph, Virgin birth
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Be patient
When our children were small and there were too many things to do with the two hands that I have, one of the children, wise and observant, noticed that often their requests were met with the same, repeated phrase. I realized this one day when they asked me, “for a drink, now please, and not in a minute.”
Be patient, beloved. Continue reading
Sneaky Jesus
We cannot righteous our way to redemption. That’s where Jesus comes in. Continue reading
Posted in advent meditations, lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged forgiveness, judgement, redemption, second coming, terrorism, Year A Advent 1
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Underwater Jesus
Today is a heavy travel day here in the US. For many, a trip home brings feelings of relief and deep joy. For others, the air is electric with anxiety and dangers. For some, there is no going home, only the wilderness wandering within sight but not touch of the Promised Land. For not a few, the opening of the holiday season begins a pilgrimage to the abyss of grief. Continue reading
Posted in prayer, story
Tagged grief, Psalm 130:1, submerged statues, Thanksgiving, underwater Jesus
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Race and guns: a call to the occasion “For Such a Time As This” with the Rev. Sharon Risher
I was honoured to offer this opening prayer and call at lunch with God Before Guns and the Rev. Sharon Risher at Forest Hill Presbyterian Church, Cleveland Heights, today. What do guns have to do with any of this? That … Continue reading
Posted in current events, gun violence, prayer, story
Tagged God Before Guns, Mother Emmanuel Church, Rev Sharon Risher
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Building up
It is tempting to read Haggai’s prophecies as an allegory for our times. We could imagine him coming into this space, our space, and asking, “Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now?” Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged church building, church decline, church growth, Haggai, Jerusalem, temple, Year C Proper 27
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For all the saints
Even your tears are formed from living water. Even your hunger is a sign of God’s blessing, a sign that you know, deep in your belly, that God has more for you, that God intends you for greater satisfaction. That is the faith of the apocalyptic visionaries: that already, God is making all things new, that death’s days are numbered. Continue reading
Posted in holy days, lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged All Saints Year C, apocalypse, communion of saints, Daniel 7:1-18, Luke 6:20-31, Revelation
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All Souls
O eternal Lord God, who holdest all souls in life … (Book of Common Prayer, 202) Continue reading
Posted in holy days, spiritual autobiography
Tagged All Souls, ensoulment, grief, miscarriage, pregnancy loss
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over the water 