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With Joy You Will Draw Water

With Joy You Will Draw Water Advent 3: Zephaniah 3:14-20, Isaiah 12:2-6 Joy bubbles up like some underground stream channelled anew to this hidden dry pool. Out of the depths it bursts into the light, mating with air in bright bubbles and mist. Maybe these waters remain for a time; maybe they’re gone soon afterContinue reading “With Joy You Will Draw Water”

Prepare the Way of the Lord

Prepare the Way of the Lord Advent 2: Luke 3:1-6, Malachi 3:1-14, Luke 1: 68-79 (Song of Zechariah) There are voices who cry out within our wilderness for the sake of Earth and desperate refugees, for the dispossessed First Nations still without redress and the women with no voice to frame their pleas. Like theContinue reading “Prepare the Way of the Lord”

Season of Despair or Hope

Season of Despair or Hope Advent 1, Luke 21:25-38 Yes, now there’s distress among nations on earth, and signs in creation that few eyes dare see. There’s fear and foreboding, and pain before birth, but hidden growth waits in each season-bared tree. Apocalypse now or the kingdom come near? The promise of summer or portentContinue reading “Season of Despair or Hope”

Christ the King

Christ the King Christ the King, John 18: 33-37, Luke 23: 32-43 This Jesus is king like no other: he reigns without hoopla of power: no practised parading of armies, no throne room and no prison tower. It’s risky to vie for his favours: the cross is a hard way to rise, and thorns crownContinue reading “Christ the King”

Don’t Judge on Appearances

Don’t Judge on Appearances Pentecost 25, 1 Samuel 1:4-20, Mark 13:1-11 Though lofty in appearance, temples fall. Our preconceptions dazzle us or blind, and prejudice makes tyrants of us all when how we mock or prize distorts our mind. Poor barren Hannah mouthing silent prayer was judged as drunk when Eli misconstrued. She had toContinue reading “Don’t Judge on Appearances”

Beware!

Beware! Pentecost 24, Mark 12:38-44 He named it then, and he’d name it now! Though they crucify him, he would say, “Beware of those who show off in the marketplace, who expect respect and who claim they care, who display their wealth and yet grasp for more while the generous poor are left stripped andContinue reading “Beware!”

Song of Lazarus

The Song of Lazarus Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.” John 11:35,36 He called. I returned. What else could I do? Though hard it was, and dark to take up flesh I’d left, I did not think to blame. He called. I came forth. What else could IContinue reading “Song of Lazarus”

Jesus Wept

Jesus Wept (Reflection on John 11:32-44, gospel for All Saints’ Day) See, Jesus wept. We know he shares our grief. Like Martha, Mary dared to speak her mind. “If you had been here” – anger finds relief, expressing thoughts so painful and unkind. “If you had been here, he would not have died.” Then JesusContinue reading “Jesus Wept”

Now the Son in a Splendour

Now the Son in a splendour (lyrics) (suggested for All Saints’ Day, John 11:32-44) Now the Son in a splendour of wholeness has shattered the smallness of our mundane lives. He discards all our bindings and coffins, and calls to our dead and our lost to emerge. So our butterfly souls are unfurling, and heartsContinue reading “Now the Son in a Splendour”

Healing the Blind

Healing the Blind Mark 10:46-52, Pentecost 22 Look round and in for signs of loss of sight unrecognized by those left in the dark, maybe because they think they’re always right. Their inner blindness leaves no outer mark. They cannot see how racial hatred harms, or what life might be like for refugees. Their mindsContinue reading “Healing the Blind”