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Temples Come Temples Go

Temples Come, Temples GoPentecost 14, 1 Kings 8:1,6,10-11,22-30,41-43; John 6:56-69King David imagined a house for the Lord:it would have been visible gift and reward.The prophet came back with God’s word of delay:“Let Solomon take up this dream in his day!”Stone walls lined with cedar encrusted with goldwould stand as four centuries’ stories unfold.The beauty createdContinue reading “Temples Come Temples Go”

Flesh to Eat

Flesh to EatPentecost 13; John 6:51-58How can this man give us his flesh to eat?Not cannibals, communicants are we!To give his flesh as bread subverts defeat,forgiving our betrayals yet to be.So often he disturbs our literal sense,upsets convention, challenges what’s right,and then must bear the brunt of our offence,flesh broken, blood poured out, the loomingContinue reading “Flesh to Eat”

Grieving over Lost Sons and Daughters

Grieving Over Lost Sons and DaughtersPentecost 11; 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 14, 31-33; Luke 13:34,35David wept:“O my son Absalom,my son, my son Absalom!Would I had died instead of you,O Absalom, my son, my son!”How many weepfor sons and daughterscaught by the headbetween heaven and earth,caught by the trap of minddislocated from body and soul!How many weepforContinue reading “Grieving over Lost Sons and Daughters”

Day after the Miracle

Day after the MiraclePentecost 11; John 6:24-35When they found him next day Jesus said:“You have eaten your fill of the loaves,but you fail to see feeding as sign.”They were asking what works he would doto be proof that was worth their belief,though they’d seen a child’s lunch feed them all.Seems our eyesight’s as blinkered asContinue reading “Day after the Miracle”

Feeding, Healing, Sailing

Feeding, Healing, SailingPentecost 10; John 6:1-21Fish and loaves multipliedcannot feed jaded lives.Bellies full, vacant soulsransacked by affluence,will not seek Jesus outon a hill, by a lake,will not reach praying hands:“Teacher, feed! Wise One, heal!”When the storms overwhelm,and this Earth, like a boat,balance lost, starts to sink,darkened eyes, fixed on fear,will not see Jesus walk.Only say,Continue reading “Feeding, Healing, Sailing”

Sacred Dance

Sacred DancePentecost 7, 2 Samuel 6, 1-5, 12-20, Mark 6:14-29I have witnessed sacred dancingthat has stirred my very being:wordless meaning that’s enhancingprayer inspired by what I’m seeing –spirit stirring, feelings freeing.Yet our mainstream church disdains it,though the censure is unspoken:formal liturgy restrains itinto gestures that are token,careful that no power is woken.With exuberance, King DaviddancedContinue reading “Sacred Dance”

Shake Off the Dust and Move On

Shake Off the Dust and Move OnPentecost 7; Mark 6:11If you find no welcome thereand your words seem wasted air,shake off the dust and move on.Don’t despair if they don’t care;turn your back on their stony stare.Shake off the dust and move on.If your joy in being dies,captured by restraints and ties,shake off the dustContinue reading “Shake Off the Dust and Move On”

Daughter, Your Faith Has Made You Well

Daughter, Your Faith Has Made You WellPentecost 6, Mark 5:21-43She touched his cloak, believing she would heal.The bleeding stopped; she knew that she was free.His power went forth, a flow that he could feel.“Who touched my clothes?” he said and turned to see.She found the strength to own what she had done;her honest courage helpedContinue reading “Daughter, Your Faith Has Made You Well”

Who then is this?

Who then is this?Pentecost 5, Mark 4:35-41“Who then is this?” we ask.Do winds and waves obeya being set apartwith words we dare not say,not even when we pray?“Who then is this?” we ask.A man so spent and wornhe cannot help but sleep,although the skies are tornand there may be no dawn.“Who then is this?” weContinue reading “Who then is this?”