Loving my Enemy Epiphany 7; Luke 6:27-38 To call that man my enemy would seem too strong a claim, yet still I feel unloving, remembering his name. A bully in the workplace the three of us agreed. It’s fifteen years behind me, and still I am not freed. One dived into a bottle, one leftContinue reading “Loving my Enemy”
Author Archives: barbmessneroutlookcom
Blessings and Woes
Blessings and Woes Epiphany 6; Luke 6:17-26 Confront us with the mystery that blessing graces misery while fortune loads the dice for woe! Our poverty can strip away the gilded idols of our day, while wealth can stifle what might grow. Our hunger seeks out nourishment and hungry souls will be content with nothing shortContinue reading “Blessings and Woes”
Fishing and Following
Fishing and Following Epiphany 5; Luke 5 1-11 Lord, don’t forsake the work of your own hands! Like Simon, we have laboured in the dark, then washed our empty nets upon the sands. Our sense of failure leaves a hurtful mark. Can we, like Simon, weary as we are, set out again a little wayContinue reading “Fishing and Following”
Hometown Rejection
Hometown Rejection Epiphany 4; Luke 4:21-30 They drove him out and pushed him to the brink, so keen were they to shake him from the height of vision that he claimed, to see him shrink back to the mundane faith that they deemed right. He did not think of ways he might placate, but namedContinue reading “Hometown Rejection”
Desolation, Consolation, Desolation
Desolation, Consolation, Desolation Epiphany 3; Luke 4:1-30 Filled by the Spirit, he is teaching, honed by harsh tests and raw beseeching. Fame after wilderness temptation: consolation follows desolation. Look, how that cycle gets inverted – those who admired him still deserted. Praised by the people and invited, he sees how soon is wrath ignited. ReadingContinue reading “Desolation, Consolation, Desolation”
Transformation Time
Transformation Time Epiphany 2; John 2:1-11 Sometimes, like Mary at the wedding feast, I see a need in those for whom I care, and point it out to God, hoping at least, if I dare ask, the cupboard won’t stay bare. Like Jesus, God might say, “Now what concern is that for you or me?Continue reading “Transformation Time”
Song for Epiphany
Song for Epiphany Matthew 2:1-12 (written to fit the Irish traditional tune Columcille, as arranged by John Bell, Iona Community, for his song No wind at the window, Together in Song 287) What star can I follow to kneel in that place? How far will I journey? What doubts dare erase? And if I canContinue reading “Song for Epiphany”
Christmas Here and Now
No new poems this week – I’ve taken a couple of weeks off, coping with the delights and stresses of fostering the greyhound we hope to adopt, Misty. So I’m posting some Christmas poems from the past, this one from last year. Christmas Here and Now Precarious – our lives in covid’s wake: decisions joltContinue reading “Christmas Here and Now”
The Word of God and the Wisdom of God
The Word of God and the Wisdom of God Christmas: John 1:1-14, Hebrews 1:1-4 The prophets wrote: “Thus says the Lord.” The price they paid to share God’s word was more than we would dare afford, but they must speak, ignored or heard. What was it like to be God’s Word – a living challengeContinue reading “The Word of God and the Wisdom of God”
Elizabeth Greeting Mary
Elizabeth Greeting Mary Advent 4; Luke 1:39-45 I call her blessed, and so it seems am I, with new life growing in a womb long bare, and though as victims both our sons might die, their purpose justifies the risks they’ll share. A fearless prophet waits to leave my thighs, the one who’ll dare toContinue reading “Elizabeth Greeting Mary”
Barb, poet priest 