All rights reserved
© Rosalind C Hughes and over the water, 2011-2026. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Rosalind C Hughes and over the water, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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-
Recent Posts
Archives
Categories
RevGalBlogPals
Meta
Author Archives: Rosalind C Hughes
In memoriam
From the edge of the cliff we see no horizon. Earth, air, water merge, solid state dissolves, breath condenses, dessicates; we lick salt out of the sky. I drive him to the airport. Lumbering hulls filled with gear and stuff; … Continue reading
Posted in image, poetry
Tagged bereavement, family, grief, long-distance relationship
Leave a comment
Earth, oil, ashes, and a pound of precious nard
I have anointed people for death, and I think Mary was right to get in early, because when I return, a few days later, or a week, I do not come bearing precious nard. Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer, sermon preparation
Tagged anointing, clergy, funerals, Holy Week, John 12:1-8, Mary of Bethany, Palm Sunday, Year C Lent 5
Leave a comment
Running away
A ghost is following me … Continue reading
Jesus, Mary, and Judas
Poor, jealous Judas, love-lorn puppy, eyes stinging from the stench and from the memory: “See how he loved him!” they said when Jesus wept, and now this woman spilling fragrant death all over. Her sister rattles the plates on purpose. Mary, rapt … Continue reading
Year C Lent 4: life and death
It is such a familiar story, and one which we love: God running to us, skirts hitched up, “my child! My child!” It is all the good news that we need. We were dead but are alive again, by the … Continue reading
The prodigal God
Waiting for the God to come home; if I saw her on the road would I run, hitching up my skirts, fire up the pyre, melt the golden calf, sacrifice my unbelief, my cold soul on the altar of her … Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer, sermon preparation
Tagged God, Luke 15:11-32, parable, prodigal son, repentance, Year C Lent 4
Leave a comment
A cynical preacher on the prodigal parable
Every story has a point of view. I knew that family. I would have told their story a little differently than Jesus did. I would have told you a little more. The kid was a chancer, a gambler, an addict. … Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, sermon preparation
Tagged addiction, cynical preacher, family, Jesus, Luke 15:11-32, parable, prodigal son, Revelation 22:1, Year C Lent 4
2 Comments
Year C Lent 3: self-examination and repentance
Lest ye repent, says Jesus, you will all perish as they did. It was the first soundbite of Jesus’ campaign trail, his initial mission statement: Repent, for the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Our exhortation … Continue reading
A word about music
For TrebleFest 2016, Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, Ohio; in these or other words: Singing is a profound example of how we are made in the image of God. Whether we come to it through the science of the body, the breath … Continue reading
Posted in meditation
Tagged choir, church music, creation, God, music, singing, TrebleFest, Trinity Cathedral Cleveland
2 Comments
The penitent
on her knees scrubbing blood from the pavement beneath the broken icon
Posted in haiku, lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer, sermon preparation
Tagged Luke 13:1-9, penitence, repentance, year c lent 3
Leave a comment
over the water 