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Category Archives: prayer
A broader mischief
I am sorry to say that today is not convenient for revolution. I have Sadducees coming for dinner and some scribes – I did not tell them of each other – I have employed unemployed tax collectors as wait staff and women of repute for the cabaret. Mary is livid, … Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer
Tagged Jesus, John the Baptist, Luke 1:46-55, Magnificat, Matthew 11:2-11, Year A Advent 3
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A messiah for the rest of us
A reflection on the coming Sunday’s gospel, John’s question, which is perennially ours; Jesus’ answer, which is ours, too While John took on kings and their consorts, Jesus consorted with the lowly and the leprous. While John baptized gods, Jesus … Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer, sermon preparation
Tagged Jesus, John the Baptist, Matthew 11:2-11, Year A Advent 3
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A crown of thorns
They twisted together a crown with which to anoint his brow. They thought to make a mockery,but had the pliant green twigs not yielded of their own accord, their obeisance and homage to their king, then their hands would have held only dust rubbed into the … Continue reading
Posted in holy days, lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer, sermon preparation
Tagged Christ the King, crown of thorns
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The cost of mercy
Raw thoughts on the parable of the good Samaritan, heard at Morning Prayer Mercy does not come cheap at two denarii, a night’s unpaid delay, the physical labour of lifting a grown man onto a donkey, walking with bags of … Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer
Tagged Daily Office, Good Samartian, Luke 10:29-37, mercy, morning prayer
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Morning prayer
A rainbow in my rearview mirror; ahead, the bridge is stalled to let an ambulance fly over, chasing life. A rainbow in my rearview mirror; the electronic highway sign describes an untold story in make, model, missing, before reverting to travel time for the morning commute. A rainbow … Continue reading
Posted in poetry, prayer
Tagged Daily Office, Luke 9:51-62, morning prayer, rainbow, vocation
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Nevertheless, God persisted
To persist in prayer, at its foundation, is to persist in our relationship with that God. It is not to lose hope that God’s will will be done, not to turn away to other, more immediate but more corruptible resolutions. This call to persistence is the call of the prophets, to do justice, to love mercy, to walk humbly beside God, deep in conversation, or indeed in a conversational silence, knowing that our faith is not misplaced. Continue reading
Who am I to judge?
The judge of the parable had no regard for anyone, but the God who will pass judgement upon me so loved the world as to become Emmanuel, God with us, to suffer under our unjust judgement, and to die. The God who will, I pray, have mercy upon me hears the cries of the widows to whom I turn a cloth ear, and continues to importune me with opportunities for penitence. Continue reading
Angel
Hide stretched taut, a little frayed at the edges – homage to the fantasy of feathers – humming as the updraft plays its song of praise to the author of breath; you have become an instrument of glory, the terrible call and echoing, empty response, symphony on skins full of … Continue reading
The Call of Matthew
If you were to write a gospel, what would you include? What might you leave out? Would you slide in a cameo of the time that Jesus, passing through your toll booth, caught your eye, mouthed, “Follow me”? … Continue reading
Did Jesus dream?
Did Jesus dream? Were his dreams oracular, spectular, unconsciously omniscient, encompassing future and past, nebulae and black holes? Were there days when night hung from his shoulders, unlight, leaden remnants of memory or premonition? Did Jesus delight in the absurdity of dreamscape? Was he … Continue reading
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