Temptations in the Wilderness Lent 1; Luke 4:1-15 I have walked that wilderness, breathed its gritty, brazen air. Seems our culture lodges there! Voices work on our distress, tempting us to be secure – “Wealth can happiness ensure!” Spirit dreams evaporate! Bread is conjured out of stones, our reward as worker drones. “You can masterContinue reading “Temptations in the Wilderness”
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The Churches of St. Moses, St. Elijah and St. Jesus on the Mountain
The Churches of St. Moses, St. Elijah and St. Jesus on the Mountain Last Sunday after Epiphany – Transfiguration; Luke 9:28-43 It is upon the mountaintop that light transfigures features that we thought we knew, and we are dazzled seeing what’s beyond as past and future balance on that peak, and in that moment GodContinue reading “The Churches of St. Moses, St. Elijah and St. Jesus on the Mountain”
Loving my Enemy
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”
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”
Barb, poet priest 