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Category Archives: holy days
Was it necessary?
We do not have Pharaoh’s excuse, whose heart by God was hardened, but from that evening in the garden we have pursued our own destruction. We cannot claim we didn’t know, with the fruit still sweet on our tongue. Was it necessary? Better ask the serpent, … Continue reading
No longer Monday
It’s not Monday any more, but the scent still lingers in the house when they awaken, and Lazarus is grateful for the distraction; he hardly knows himself these days, still amazed at the complicated gift of life. The echoes of … Continue reading
Posted in holy days, lectionary reflection
Tagged Holy Week, Isaiah 42, Jesus, John 12:1-11, Lazarus
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If these were quiet …
Think of the palms, crushed and bruised by the colt and the crowds, and of the ones who came back, the poor, the quiet, who came back to collect their broken stems and bleeding leaves, and wove them into something new, something to sell back to … Continue reading
The Fast
Is it this, that I would choose, to undo the latches, throw open the doors, empty the warehouses, let in the light, let out the breath, let in the light, let out the breath of the people bated, bated too long, to fast from the bread … Continue reading
Posted in current events, holy days, poetry, prayer
Tagged Ash Wednesday, fast, Lent
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Stay (Transfiguration)
Less a trick of the Lightcondensing out of the cloud, each droplet its own world of shapes and shades, ghosts of the martyred, those sidekicks of salvation, dissipating with their breath than the Light of the world condensing creation, ancestors and angels,witnesses and wantons in one bright moment … Continue reading
Posted in holy days, lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer, preparing for Sunday with poetry, sermon preparation
Tagged Epiphany, hope, Last Sunday after the Epiphany, light of the world, Luke 9:28-36, Mark 9:2-8, martyrs, MAtthew 17:1-9, Transfiguration, Valley of the shadow of death
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Intended
That was the vision in which Joseph placed his faith and his family: that God is with us, God’s promises endure forever. It didn’t make life easier, by any means. God knows it didn’t remove the obstacles of grief and the graft and grimness of the world or the wilderness, its empires, its wars, its little kings.
But what it did mean is that he, Joseph, spent the rest of his days in the close and intimate presence of the love of God among us, Jesus. Continue reading
Posted in current events, holy days, homily, lectionary reflection, sermon
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Wise
By the time you reached the star-struck place
you were ready to crawl in on bended knees
and babble your praises like a newborn;
for the foolishness of God’s incarnation
was wiser than you or I ever could imagine. Continue reading
Christmas Eve 2025
This is the message of Christmas, isn’t it – not so much the drawing in and closing down, the drawing of the curtains against the dark and cold, as it is the opening up; the labour of effacing little by little the things that come between us and keep us from seeing the glory of God incarnate in our neighbours, from realizing the strength and endurance of God’s love, the capacity and tenacity of God’s mercy. When the very heavens are opened for angels to sing to shepherds on the earth, how can we be short of room for one another, friend and stranger, lover and lost, family and fallen alike? Continue reading
Advent I
It is not as simple as the poet makes it sound to transform the form of metal, a sword into farm equipment. Just hit it with a hammer, the prophecy implies, and all will fall, seeds into their furrows and … Continue reading
Woe to you who are self-satisfied
Be the blessing that will bring us closer to the kingdom of God that Mary and Hannah sang of. Do the good in this moment, at this time and in this place, that will let others know the enduring love of God, who feeds us on bread and wine. Listen, heed the warnings that Jesus offers to those who think that they are untouched by the needs of others. Love God, love your neighbour, change their world, change our world. Continue reading
Posted in holy days, homily, lectionary reflection, sermon
Tagged All Saints, All Souls, baptism, fulcrum, Jesus, Magnificat, SNAP, solidarity
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over the water 