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Category Archives: lectionary reflection
Poisonous legacies and new tongues
The basic hagiography of Francis Xavier goes something like this: Born in 1506 in the Navarre region of France, Francis met Ignatius of Loyola as a young man, and was greatly influenced by his friendship. Together, with others, they formed … Continue reading
Sheep and goats: beyond the parable
The first goat I ever met as an individual, got to know as a person, as it were, lived in an urban back garden in Oxford, England. He did not, however, necessarily stay there. One evening, doing the dishes after … Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, sermon preparation
Tagged Matthew 25, parable, sheep and goats
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Render
A silhouette against my eyelids, black on red; a name beaten out by my heart’s tattoo; the claim that staked me through and through; I render unto, surrender unto – whose image and title is this?
Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer, sermon preparation
Tagged Matthew 22:15-22, render unto Caesar, surrender, Year A Proper 24
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The wedding robe
White lace cut down to a christening robe. Later, a doll with curly blonde hair wore my mother’s leftover wedding weeds, a moulded Miss Haversham preserved in plastic, dressed for the feast, rosebud lips perpetually parted for love.
Vineyards
I cannot grow an apple tree, aromatic herbs, fresh flowers. I dig and plant and water and weed; everything dies. I drink the wine of another’s vineyard, climb the walls to scrump the orchard, cadge the scent of another’s roses … Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, sermon preparation
Tagged Isaiah 5:1-7, Matthew 21, parable, Psalm 80, scrumping apples, vineyard
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Year A Proper 21: By whose authority?
Rarely does Jesus give a straight answer to a straight question; but rarely, too, is he quite as direct about his indirection as he is here. Leading to the following reflection: Can you imagine being Jesus’ mother? I don’t mean … Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, sermon preparation
Tagged authority, childhood, Jesus, Mary, Matthew 21:23-32, Messiah, Year A Proper 21
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Where two or three gather: thoughts from a Sunday afternoon cycle
Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” When I first started out, it was a means to an end: lose some weight, gain some strength, save some money and planet … Continue reading
Bearing
It is such a little thing, to hang above my heart, given me at baptism, my magpie hands clutched at its shiny surface, all glistering and light; once clasped I hardly know I’m wearing my golden cross while sunrise shadows … Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, sermon preparation
Tagged baptism, cross, Matthew 16:21-28, talisman, Year A Proper 17
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Who do you say that I am?
One with the patience to measure the countless millimetres between here and eternity; his father taught him to measure twice, cut once. He would joke around the workshop that he had come to bring not peace, but a saw; brandishing, … Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, sermon preparation
Tagged carpenter, Jesus, Matthew 16:13, Year A Proper 16
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Repent
My Bible Challenge blog is usually more spiritualized than topical, but this morning, reading Jeremiah’s continuing litany of oracles against the nations, I could not help but wonder where we fit in: Jeremiah 48:33 Gladness and joy have been taken … Continue reading
Posted in current events, lectionary reflection
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over the water 