Do Not Despise These Little Ones

Do Not Despise These Little Ones
Pentecost 15; Matthew 18:10-20
If churches think that numbers show success,
he says he’s there with only two or three;
Christ’s presence may be lost amidst a crowd
where few can see who anyone might be.

If angels of the little ones see God
and adults need to look with childlike eyes,
why say: “Grow up! Don’t dream! Achieve!”
when children have a knowing that is wise?

Our Earth cannot sustain our lust for growth;
the blandishments of more leave us with less.
If first is last and last is first, what lies
promote this headlong scramble for success?

In flocks of thousands, who knows one has strayed?
A shepherd living with the sheep would know
if one of those, each known by name, is lost,
and more than that, where such a one might be.

To seek the one when ninety-nine are left
shows trust in how the flock will hold its ground,
and care for one another as they graze,
and share the joy when one they miss is found.

As wise and patient care restores a stray,
so conflict that is honestly addressed
in person, or with one or two who hear,
may, in Christ’s presence, be resolved and blessed.
Barbara Messner 2/09/2026

Show Me the Blaze that Won’t Consume

Show Me the Blaze that Won’t Consume
Pentecost 14; Exodus 3:1-15; Matthew 16:21-28
I’ve tended flocks I was assigned
by patriarchs and hierarchs.
I spent some years in wilderness
and moved beyond and came at times
in sight of heights and spirit fire,
and still I cry, “Show me the blaze
that won’t consume and leave me ash.
I’ll walk barefoot to such a flame.”

Now people cry in misery,
abused in modern Pharoahs’ lands.
Your name’s misused or seldom heard:
they worship just their own “I am!”
The God of being has no place:
this is not new, for Jesus told
how he would suffer and be killed
at hands of elders, priests and scribes.

Does he repay what has been done?
He said, “Forgive for they don’t know!”
I follow him but still I ask,
“What must be lost and what be saved?”
If in the Christ I find myself,
how can I speak of needed loss
when I too cling to what I’ve gained?
Barbara Messner 27/08/2026

A Searching Question

A Searching Question
Pentecost 13; Matthew 16:13-20
I hoped to change opinions
when I have said and written
some fervent words and sermons
in answer to his question:
“But who do you say I am?”

What people say about him
so often seems distorted,
and other people suffer
through prejudice and judgement.
Such harm is not from Jesus.

His misused name made victims:
lost cultures, language, children;
crusades, witch hunts and burnings;
bombs in abortion clinics -
allegedly for Jesus.

Though Peter dared to name him
“Messiah”, he was mistaken
in seeing a new David
empowered to save the nation,
not Suffering Servant dying.

Do “Lord” and “King” mislead us,
for those so named in history
were mostly far from Christ-like?
Men even used his maleness
to dominate the women.

No wonder Jesus told them,
“Don’t talk of the Messiah!”
Too often titled leaders
are glorified abusers
with idols in their image.

If what you think of Jesus
excludes or harms another,
examine how you see him
in light of his commandments:
love God and love your neighbour!

Love prompts us to seek answers
to Jesus’ searching question.
If God is love, then Jesus
embodies all that’s loving
and those who love are godly.

How live that love in practice?
An open mind for wisdom,
respect for diverse being,
compassion for the suffering,
humility to listen.
	Barbara Messner 19/08/2026
“But God loves things by becoming them.
God loves things by uniting with them, not by excluding them.” Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ, (Convergent Books 2021) p. 16

A Daughter Tormented by a Demon

A Daughter Tormented by a Demon
Pentecost 12; Matthew 15:21-28
The Canaanite mother kept shouting:
	“Mercy for my daughter!”
The disciples came and urged Jesus:
	“Send her away!”
Longing for peace, he did not answer her,
	then was dismissive.
Undaunted in faith, she answered back.
	Healing happened.

The demons who torment
	our daughters and sons
are trolls on social media,
	bullies and abusers
in schools and on phones,
peer groups sodden
with drugs, sex and booze,
	a jaded society
entertained by violence,
	media driven hype
idolizing winners and berating losers,
	parents too busy
to notice or shout out.

No doubt there are women seeking Jesus,
	begging for mercy.
Does he stay silent, discourage them
	with ethnic or gender disparity?
Is salvation exclusive, reserved
	for those at the altar?
Are healing powers weakened
	when so few believe?

Let the women and the dogs
	who love the children,
demand help loudly,
	challenging rejection,
claiming crumbs from his table
	and the touch of healing,
breaking into his breakdown
	to give and take wholeness.
	Barbara Messner 16/08/2023 (recycled- my mind needs a break.)

Walking on Water

Walking on Water
Pentecost 11; Matthew 14:22-36
You come to me when strength begins to fail
and waves of chaos loom above my head.
All night the gale has toyed with skill and sail;
my hope is now too shredded to be said.
At dawn you walk on water, coming near:
it seems you move above and in and through
as though at one with forces that I fear.
I long to rise and walk on water too.
I manage several steps before the sight
of depths below distracts my eyes from you.
You reach a hand to save me from my fright,
and on my craft, you settle in as crew.
I’m calm enough at last to find the shore.
The sea’s the same; I’m different from before.
	Barbara Messner 5/08/2026

You Give Them Something to Eat

You Give Them Something to Eat
Pentecost 9; Matthew 14:13-21
Jesus withdrew in a boat 
to a deserted place to grieve:
mourning the execution of a prophet
at the order of an indulgent king,
the loss of a relative, mentor, baptizer,
fearless voice from the wilderness
of a colonized country.

A crowd followed on foot from the town
so there would be no solitude.
Turning grief into compassion,
Jesus went ashore to the crowd
and healed their sick until evening.
I wonder did he struggle
with the longing to leave
to find privacy for tears.

The disciples were worn down
with fear and grief and outrage.
They wanted to feed their teacher,
let him rest and retreat in their boat.
“The hour is late, send them away;
they’ll buy food in the villages.”

Jesus said, “They need not go.
You give them something to eat.”
I heard a sermon once
during ordination training.
Several times those words were repeated:
“You give them something to eat.”
I left in helpless tears,
repeating as if accused:
“I have nothing, nothing left.”

Like Jacob alone at the ford,
having sent all he had ahead,
must we wrestle through the dark,
wounded but hanging on,
holding out for a blessing?
Or is it when we are humbled,
knowing we lack resources,
mired in loss and in tears,
is it then that a miracle happens?

There were five loaves and two fish
that Jesus blessed and broke,
making of this a sacrament,
offering people himself,
prepared to face the breaking.

Some say the loaves and fish
were given by a boy,
willing to share his own food.
Was it in the sharing
that meagre pieces multiplied,
so that all ate and were filled,
twelve baskets full left over?

Sometimes I seem to have little,
dry fragments reluctantly offered,
yet if I need to be feeding
whoever has gathered to listen,
some hunger may be assuaged,
giving meaning to blessing and breaking
and healing through hearing and sharing.
	Barbara Messner 30/07/2026

The Cost of Finding Treasure

The Cost of Finding Treasure
Pentecost 9; Matthew 13:44-58
Jesus told of treasure found outdoors,
hidden in the earth beneath the stars.
Could you change your life to make it yours?
Leave behind what modern living mars?
Do without your mobile phone and cars?
Walk on country with respect and care?
Turn away from city nights in bars?
Breathe the health of wide, untainted air?

Find the pearl most valued in your heart!
Sell the rest and buy it if you dare!
Choose what turns existence into art!
Strip away the masks and shields you bear!
Finding who you really are is worth
goods that gather dust upon a shelf.
Kingdom pearls induce reluctant birth.
Risk the pain, reveal your naked self.

Scribes of kingdom wisdom bring forth truth,
treasuring their sources old and new:
lived-in words of age, fresh words of youth,
common sense and insights of the few.
Prophets without honour when at home
walk the talk in search of listening ears.
Follow if your soul desires to roam!
Hear new words and those that bridge the years.
	Barbara Messner 19/07/2026

Weeds Amongst the Wheat

Weeds Amongst the Wheat
Pentecost 8; Matthew 13:24-30
Who is to blame for weeds amongst the wheat?
Do seeds of hate and prejudice remain,
lodged out of sight until they can compete,
released by heat and stirred to life by rain?
Their roots lie tangled with the growing grain:
to tear them up would risk uprooting crop.
At harvest time, their nature will be plain.
When weed piles burn, their random sowings stop.
This metaphor applies within each soul:
the good we want we find we cannot do
unless, discerning what can mar the whole,
we purify our soil to plant anew.
When greed and social media breed weeds,
send reapers who can judge what truly feeds.
	Barbara Messner 15/07/2026

A Parallel Parable of Sower and Seed

A Parallel Parable of Sower and Seed
Pentecost 7; Matthew 13:1-23
A farmer said he sowed his wheat
into the night. The seed ran out.
He missed the sign: perhaps he dozed,
equipment failed – both old and tired.
He kept on sowing, unaware:
part seed, part air drilled in the ground.

How could he know which part might grow?
I think he sowed that field again:
a waste of seed and time and strain,
but hopefully a harvest gained,
or did the crowded part yield less
for all his effort, fuel and cost?

Now down the ages seed was sown –
the word of God and words that sprout
where fertile minds bring forth the grain
and store the seed to sow again.
The yield has varied and maybe
the quality has varied too.

So, do we sow an ancient strain,
or seed evolved to suit the soil
and climate in such varied lands?
How can we know what’s gained or lost
as word comes down two thousand years,
source and translation shaping truth?

Now if we sow into the night,
worn out and dozing, can we know
if seed runs out and nothing’s sown?
Then, if we just repeat the past,
will such a crop grow spindly there,
invaded by encroaching weeds?
	Barbara Messner 9/07/2026

To What Will I Compare This Genertion?

To What Will I Compare This Generation?
Pentecost 6; Matthew 11:15-19, 25-30
Our markets are not graced with lilting airs,
nor is there space or time for feet to dance.
The love-lorn pop songs wail but no-one cares;
beneath the car parks, air-starved planet pants.
So, play the music that revives the soul
and sing laments for woes we need to hear.
Oh, show us humble ways that heal the whole
and calm us when we hurry on in fear.

Humility is scarcely valued here –
the arrogant, pretentious ones hold sway.
Pursuit of wealth makes mercy disappear,
while wisdom of the ages has no say.
You call the weary, let them rest in you.
Release them from their burdens and their strain.
Your easy yoke will let their strength renew.
With gentleness, you soothe their long-held pain.

This generation loves to judge and blame.
They claim intelligence but close their minds.
The Lord of heaven and earth has here no fame;
their screen-based knowledge casts a spell that blinds.
Please teach us to discern with heart and art!
Our noise-fogged ears must learn to listen well.
Our inner child lets jaded thoughts depart
and insight strikes a note clear as a bell.
Barbara Messner 29/06/2026