Entrusted to Make the Best of What We’re Given

Entrusted to Make the Best of What We’re Given
Pentecost 25; Matthew 25:14-30
There are talents we’ve been given here at hand –
ingenuity, resources, power enough –
to turn back the ticking clocks of climate change,
and restore the fraught ecology of earth.

Still we bury that potential out of fear
of the consequences even if we’re right.
What does head in sand style leadership avoid –
loss of present profit, influence and pride?

There are harsher repercussions that await
any failure to accept a timely role
in the restoration that might save the world.
For what profit is a short-term bonus now

if our children’s children can’t escape the doom
of the outer darkness, wails and gnashing teeth?
Yes, to those who venture nothing, all is lost,
while abundance flows to those who risk their more.
	Barbara Messner 10 November 2020

Wise or Foolish

Wise or Foolish
Pentecost 24; Matthew 25:1-13
Ten bridesmaids await the groom.
Those with lanterns still alight
follow to the feasting room;
five have gone off out of sight.

Those with spare oil would not share,
fearing none would have enough –
wise perhaps, but lacking care?
Foolish ones must do it tough.

Though they seek a dealer out
to replenish their supplies,
still they’re left to do without,
doors are shut, a cruel surprise.

Just a cautionary tale –
followers of Christ must wait,
letting no commitment fail –
yet it stirs in me a state

of resistance, talking back:
“What is foolish? What is wise?
Surely they supplied their lack?
Who would then deny their cries?

Is this unforgiving Lord
one that I can’t recognize?
Are we meant to guard our hoard,
not to share with those unwise?

I who frequently forget,
am I one without spare oil?
What if lamps go out, and yet
failure’s overcome with toil?

Seems to me the loving Lord
would not shut the foolish out,
nor deny them with a word,
but would welcome those without.

Still it’s true we have to wait,
and our light can start to dim.
When I’m in that burnt out state,
best to stay and wait for him.

To me, Jesus never said:
“You have failed to bring supplies!”
Giving me the wine and bread
fills the lack in what is wise.

Had they stayed till he was there,
said, “Forgive our loss of light,”
those deemed wise might learn to share
and the foolish turn out bright.
	Barbara Messner 4 November 2020

How to Emulate the Saints

How to Emulate the Saints
I know of saints who braved the harshest dooms –
such courage I cannot aspire to seek.
For me, each dental visit darkly looms,
and medical appointments spoil my week.
St. Anthony of Padua talked with fish
and Francis understood the wolf and birds –
these saints can stir in me an eager wish
to reach beyond the scope of human words
to listen to the creatures, learn their ways.
Respectful and aware, I might discern
what notes birds sing that fill the air with praise,
and with companion animals, I’d learn
to read their needs, and joyfully to share
the generous self-giving of true care. 
	Barbara Messner 28 October 2020

Love and the Referendum

Love and the Referendum
Pentecost 22; Matthew 22:34-46, Deuteronomy 34:1-12
“Love God. Love neighbour.” Jesus said
that these are life’s great laws.
Did those who voted “No” that day
let love give cause to pause?

If we refuse to listen, can
First Nations know we care?
Both lovers urged us to say “Yes”,
but fear was louder there.

“Voice. Treaty. Truth.” the elders wrote.
Expediency said “No”.
Then racist voices grew in strength,
and let their hatred show.

And so this shameful history
goes on beyond that day.
Now have we glimpsed the Promised Land,
but perished on the way?
	Barbara Messner 26/10/2023

A Frank Exchange of Views

 
A Frank Exchange of Views
Pentecost 21, Matthew 22:15-23, Exodus 33:12-23
Both God and Jesus welcome a debate,
a frank exchange of views to clear the air.
When Moses talks to God, he tells it straight,
and God lets go of wrath, reverts to care.
The Sadducees and scribes use words to snare,
but Jesus turns the tables with his skill:
the coin they showed him with the emperor’s stare
did not belong within the temple till.
A bride for seven brothers was absurd,
but mocking can’t deny the heavenly life
where women’s rights to dignity are heard,
and no-one is defined as slave or wife.
So if you need to name your fears or doubt,
then share your thoughts and let the questions out.
  Barbara Messner 14 October 2020

Invited to Attend

Invited to Attend
Pentecost 20; Matthew 22:1-14
I admit I was invited 
to attend that wedding banquet.
It would be a celebration
of life’s intimate commitment
and potential procreation.
Somehow that seemed uninviting:
I’d no time nor inclination
to join mass produced rejoicing.

I had one regret – the gardens.
There I knew I’d find abundance,
strolling down the tree-lined pathways
bright with buds and vivid blossoms,
breathing aromatic breezes,
pine and jasmine, mint and roses,
tasting peaches, grapes and berries
growing free for all to savour,
hearing bird song and the music 
of the streams and distant ocean.

Why did I say “No!” in answer?
I was busy and distracted,
but in truth I did regret it,
wondered what I might be missing.

Later I went out, uneasy,
walked the streets but going nowhere,
empty in my heart and belly.
When the servants bade us go there,
I was ready to do something,
joined the crowd to seek the banquet.
Wedding garments we were handed,
made to cover rags and street dirt.

In that robe I felt a stranger,
trapped, humiliated, silenced:
me, a guest they once respected,
treated like a homeless hobo.
Soon I started itching, twitching,
tore the garment off and left it,
stormed towards the open gateway.

When the gate clanged shut behind me,
I was left bereft and lonely,
hungry, missing that abundance
handed freely to all comers.
Suddenly my pride seemed foolish,
and my busy ways deluded.
How I wished that I had heeded 
that first summons, or indeed, had
humbly worn the wedding garment
like the vagrants they collected.

Shall I knock and seek forgiveness,
pick the garment up and wear it,
no more worthy than the lowly,
no less welcome now I know me?
	Barbara Messner 11/10/2023

Make Wise the Simple

Make Wise the Simple
Pentecost 19; Psalm 19, Matthew 21:33-46
The heavens and the earth proclaim
God’s glory throughout time and space.
Can we let silence tune our ear
enough that we might dimly hear
the cosmos praise God’s work and name
in awe and wonder at God’s grace?

The word of God revives the soul,
rejoices hearts, gives light to eyes,
but will we choose this healing way,
and let Christ’s wisdom have its say?
We try to make ourselves more whole,
and thus ignore the greater prize.

God made this world for all to share,
but greed destroys to use and own.
We are like tenants who refuse
to give the owner proper dues.
What losses land and creatures bear
where trust and wisdom are unknown!

So cleanse us from our secret faults
and keep us from presumptuous sin.
Let us be humble and give back
to those who otherwise will lack.
Then as we gaze at starry vaults
let silent worship rise within.
	Barbara Messner 4/10/2023

2 Poems for Saint’s Days

Angelic Encounter
St. Michael and All Angels Day (written September 2020)
If you ask me if I’ve seen an angel,
I’m not sure what you’ll make of my answer:
I have seen a great wing in the heavens
with light gilding the arc of its feathers;
though I knew it was cloud, yet the message
was as clear to my heart as if spoken:
“In your grieving, fear not, God is with you.”

I’ve no doubt that to people beside me
not a hint of an angel was noted,
but I felt as though graced by the sacred:
as I flew to that tender departing,
the last day of Dad’s battle with cancer,
I was held by that vision of feathers,
lifting grief into meaning that changed me.

Then I knew that my father had entered
a new life co-existing with this one,
and the veil that had come down between us
was much thinner than I had imagined:
for a time, he seemed able to reach us,
share his love and the gift of his humour
so that laughing was mixed with our weeping.

What began with the wing of an angel
wakened some different knowing within me,
so I recognized something was calling,
and said, “Yes!” with no clear destination:
then my grieving set spurs to my searching,
as I longed for that sense of unveiling
of the kingdom of heaven so near me.

Now I think that an angel did visit,
setting me on this ministry journey,
and I write of the grace and the mystery
of the God who is present in suffering,
and in joy and in laughter and questions,
for I know there are messengers calling
if we’re brought to a thin place to listen. 

Sonnet for St. Francis
Though Francis bore the marks of Jesus’ pain,
he walked the roads in simple joy and danced.
He cast aside the robes of merchant gain,
embracing poverty as life enhanced.
A fearsome wolf at his request grew tame –
for animal and town a happy end.
He preached to birds and even dared to claim
that sun and moon were kin, and death a friend.
The Spirit urged him to rebuild the church:
both stones and preaching seemed a burden slight,
with soul and body yoked in eager search,
his life a guiding fire, a beacon bright.
The centuries have not eclipsed the sight
of this man, naked, singing dawn alight.
	Barbara Messner 28/09/2021

In Reverse

In Reverse
Pentecost 17; Matthew 20:1-16
Common practice then and now
favours what is called success:
        being chosen, coming first;
        working harder, earning more;
        making sure we get what’s fair;
        sussing out what favours us.

God, it seems, works in reverse,
favours those our ways neglect:
	last is first and first is last;
	what is fair is judged by need;
	those rejected get their chance;
	all can claim a basic wage.

Turn our viewpoint upside down,
so we bring God’s kingdom near.
	Barbara Messner 21/09/2023

2 Poems

Prayer for Liberation
Pentecost 16; Exodus 14:19-31, Psalm 114
O God who leads
	slaves to freedom
and sweeps away
	pursuing forces
liberate those
	forced to labour
to their detriment
	for the profit of others
and those held down
	by discrimination.
Clog the wheels
	of abusive power
	and greedy money.

Liberating God
lead to freedom those
enslaved by addiction
	pulled down by abuse
exploited by scams.
Sweep away those
	who entrap others
through drugs and alcohol
	bullying and sexual harassment
	and social media snares.

Transforming God,
	turn the rock
of selfish hearts
	into pools of water
	where all may drink.
Change the flintstones
	of weaponized minds
into welling springs
	that nurture growth
	of diverse lives.

Barbara Messner 13/09/2023

Outback In Front
There comes a time when bare earth bakes,
and cracks appear in playing fields.
Then dusty winds compete with smog,
and outback stirs in our backyards.
No wilderness stays safely fenced:
how weak our claim on settled space!

The gardens that town water grows
are browning now with rationing;
the weeds and native plants stay green
while dead grass crackles underfoot.
The roads and concrete glare with heat
like desert sands without their soul.

Where prophets sought the wilderness,
and Spirit-driven, heard their call,
we now might drive on holidays,
between motels and tourist trails,
our bottled water in our hands,
and big Mac packets blowing by.

The silence and the loneliness
that once might stir prophetic word
are absent in our techno blah.
No Baptist shouts from river banks:
“Repent! This plunge will change your life!”
No Spirit cracks the heavens wide.

Or do we fail to hear or see
the lived or spoken word of God,
ignore the wisdom of the land,
too outback for our town-bred minds,
and scorn first peoples of the earth,
whose country we have turned to waste.

O God, awaken something wild
that stirs to hear the ancient songs,
discards white privilege and pride,
and humbled, turns to those who know.
Let outback and its peoples speak
to save the earth and guide the lost.

Barbara Messner September 2017
(for Wilderness/Outback Sunday, Season of Creation)