My TreasuresPentecost 9; Luke 12:32-40Jesus says:“Where your treasure is,there your heart will be also.”Where now are my treasuresthat draw my heart like magnets?I treasure the scribblingof words on a page,trying to touch a truth,then sharing those words with others.I find treasure in stories,read, heard and told,stories lived and imagined,shaped and revisitedby words old and new.SuchContinue reading “My Treasures”
Author Archives: barbmessneroutlookcom
Take Care
Take Care(can be sung to the tune Sally Gardens, Irish traditional, used in the Iona song Inspired by Love and Anger in Heaven Shall Not Wait (Iona Community 1987) pp.124,125, also Together in Song (HarperCollinsReligious no.674) Pentecost 8; Luke 12:13-21Take care! Be on your guard, friends,against all forms of greed!Why try to claim possessionsfar moreContinue reading “Take Care”
Ask, Search, Knock
Ask, Search, KnockPentecost 7; Luke 11:1-13Ask and it will be given you!While I was still a child,I was drawn to words, music and performance,so, as a young woman,I asked to be a singer,and that was given to me, but there’s another saying:Be careful what you wish for, you might get it.The door to singing openedContinue reading “Ask, Search, Knock”
For Those Who Sometimes Feel like Martha
For Those Who Sometimes Feel like MarthaPentecost 6; Luke 10:38-42He said that Mary chose the better partbut not because she sat to contemplate.She’d acted on the promptings of her heartdespite the voices that would remonstrate.But Martha felt she had no power of choice,constrained by what they said was woman’s role.At least with Jesus she couldContinue reading “For Those Who Sometimes Feel like Martha”
A Tale to Open Ears
A Tale to Open Ears (written during NAIDOC week which celebrates indigenous history, culture and achievement)Pentecost 5; Luke 10:25-37We may not share their long historic spite;now “good” Samaritan’s a common term,but Jesus’ listeners thought the opposite.Religious difference spurred each side’s disdain.“Samaritans praise God on mountain top,the Jews in temple at Jerusalem,”said woman of Samaria atContinue reading “A Tale to Open Ears”
Song based on Psalm 30
Song based on Psalm 30Pentecost 4; Tune Sussex Carol (On Christmas night all Christians sing) English traditional melody1.We cry to you! You draw us upfrom depths to healing light again!You bring us back from silent lands!You save our lives and make us whole! Sing out with all the faithful ones! Grateful hearts never silence praise.2.ComplacentContinue reading “Song based on Psalm 30”
The Rebuke
The RebukePentecost 3; Luke 9:51-62See how Jesus is set on this journeyto the city that slaughters the prophets.He’ll be threatened by temple and empire,but he’s willing to suffer and die there,at the hands of the fearful and powerful,for the sake of God’s love and forgiveness.When they ask in a village for shelter,the Samaritans will notContinue reading “The Rebuke”
The Voice of Sanity
The Voice of SanityPentecost 2; Luke 8:26-39At times we chafe at chainsand shiver in our nakednessand life among the tombscan come to seem like home.We know him, Jesus Christ,but what he comes to offer ustorments us with a hopetoo often snatched away.We dare not answer “Yes!”,but he’s intent on healing us.Our demons, dispossessed,ride swine intoContinue reading “The Voice of Sanity”
Now Woman Wisdom
Now, Woman WisdomTrinity Sunday; Proverbs 8:1-4,22-31Now, Woman Wisdom, call!Raise your voice again!Take your stand at the crossroadsfor there are many mis-directions,and many rush headlong,though they know not where.Your cry is to all that live,for you were brought forthbefore the beginning of the Earth.You were the delight of the Creator,and joyful partner in the master work.WhatContinue reading “Now Woman Wisdom”
Holy Spirit Come!
Holy Spirit, Come!Day of Pentecost; Acts 2:1-21Holy Spirit, comein storied metaphorlike rushing windthat shakes the houseand tongues (or bush) of flame.If I could choose your form when we connect, I’d say: “Please be embodied as a bird: be like the dove descending,or the wild goose of Celtic art,or perhaps the mythic phoenix, consumed and rebornContinue reading “Holy Spirit Come!”
Barb, poet priest 